Colors
by Hylian Harmony
Summary: By now, Four was used to switching worlds. It was no big deal. Just a switch. A minor headache if he was lucky. But this time was different. This time, Four's colors bled together. -Based off of Jojo56830's Linked Universe AU- *Temporarily on hiatus
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Okay, no one panic,"Green ordered.

Of course, that only made everyone panic more.

"I'm blind and deaf! What do you want me to do?!" Blue demanded.

"Shhh! Not so loud," Red insisted. "Everyone else is going to get suspicious."

"Keep the eyes closed for goddesses' sake," Vio said. "We can pretend we're still unconscious from the switch."

"Yes! Good idea, Vio," Green commended him. "Now, let's calm down and figure this out. I can only feel. What about everyone else?"

"When the eyes are open, I can see. That's it, though," Vio reported.

"I can only hear," Red whimpered.

"That means Blue has control of the body," Green surmised.

"Hardly. I can't see or hear," Blue mumbled.

"He says he can't see or hear," Red announced.

"Can he hear us, at least?" Green asked.

"Yes."

"Yes!" Red repeated.

"Let's just lay here for a while then. It seems that we're all co-conscious at once. We should settle in a bit." They were all inclined to believe Vio. After all, co-consciousness wasn't anything new to them. Granted, it had never occurred with all four of them at once before and never to this extreme but one of them had to gain full control _eventually_.

Five minutes later found them no better off than they were and a new complication had arisen.

"The others are getting worried. We're the only one that hasn't gotten up yet," Red said.

"Someone is shaking us," Green reported. "We're going to have to move."

Red was quick to protest. If he was in control of the body, he'd certainly be crying. "But we can't! Blue can't see or hear and-

"I'll be his eyes. You be his ears," Vio interjected. "Green's right. We'll only attract unwanted attention if we act like something's wrong."

"But something _is _wrong!" Red wailed.

"It'll be okay, Red," Green reassured him. "We're all doing this together. It'll be like before, except we'll have to be even more coordinated. Just tell us whatever you hear. Vio, report whatever you see. Blue, do exactly as we say. We'll get through this."

Green's little speech invigorated them all, and Blue blinked open the body's eyes. Vio instantly took in the figures crouched around them. It was difficult to determine exactly who was who since he couldn't move the eyes themselves. He did note Warrior, Sky, and Hyrule as being the closest and let the other three know.

"They're asking if we're okay," Red sniffled.

"Yes. Say yes, Blue," Green ordered.

Blue complied, though he had no idea how loudly or quietly he said it.

"Can we stand?"

"Hyrule is to our far right, holding out a hand to help us up. Wave it off and carefully stand up by yourself," Vio instructed.

Green felt Blue's nod and the small breeze as the body's hand swiped through the air and then dropped. They shifted, gathering their feet underneath them, and stood. So far, so good.

"Everyone is trying to figure out where we are now," Red reported.

"Look around," Vio ordered.

Green felt their face scrunch into a scowl.

"He means turn around," Green amended.

"Slowly!" Vio added.

"And wipe that expression off your face."

"Nag nag nag," Blue muttered, causing Red to shush him in a panic.

As Blue guided the body, Vio absorbed all he could from their surroundings and relayed it to the rest of them. They were in a wooded area, perhaps a forest. There wasn't anything he recognized from their Hyrule, which was good. Leading everyone through their Hyrule in their current condition would be a challenge.

"Legend thinks it's his Hyrule," Red said.

Then came a new challenge. Walking.

If they had been as disorganized as they'd been in the beginning when Link had first split into four it would have been impossible. Now, though, it was manageable, if a tad graceless. Green felt Blue's steps falter every now and again, his eyes shifting every which way so Vio could look for any possible hazards in their path like other heroes, trees, or rocks and warn him. It'd be embarrassing to trip or run into something. Red kept them up to date on the conversations going on around them so that they wouldn't be completely lost if someone turned to address them. Fortunately, they were typically quiet so no one viewed their "silence" as strange.

As the stroll wore on, their confidence grew. They could do this as long as-

"Ambush!" Red's scream stopped Blue in his tracks and instinct yanked their sword from its sheath. But he didn't swing. He didn't know where the enemies were.

Green felt the eyes moving, and Vio was quick to jump in with a report. "Moblins: three…six, no seven. One's coming straight at us. Backflip Blue!"

A weightless moment as Blue tossed their body back and then they were on their feet again.

"Roll to the left, then horizontal slice up and to-"

"Talk faster!" Blue snapped, tucking into a roll.

"He says to talk faster," Red announced.

"Well, my instructions need to be precise or else-"

Instincts flaring, Green shouted, "Left!"

Blue darted left, and Green felt a whoosh as something just barely missed their right side. Then, they slammed into something. Something big.

"STOP!" Vio screamed, halting their sword from digging into Time's side.

"Time wants to know what we're doing," Red said, his anxiety rolling over them all.

"Sorry," Blue muttered, whirling around so he was back-to-back with Time. Hopefully.

"There's a Moblin to the far right, trying to attack Sky who's already occupied fighting another," Vio reported. "Run over there and get its attention. We'll try to fight away from everyone else." Blue was already moving before Vio told him to.

"Maybe we shouldn't try to fight," Red spoke up. "This is way harder than walking."

"Monsters have been strange lately. We have to pull our weight," Green returned.

"But the others would understand, won't they?" Red insisted. "They won't hate us, right?"

"They don't even know there is an _us_!" Vio shot back in between his too-long instructions to Blue.

"Maybe… we should tell them."

"No!" No one else could hear Blue but Red so he was the only one that heard his brother's vehement disapproval, though Green could feel it the way their lips contorted to spit out the words. "They'll think we're insane."

"They won't think we're crazy!" Red shot back.

"Stop arguing!" Green shouted. "Concentrate on the battle." He could feel every near miss, and it was rattling his nerves. Blue hadn't been able to land many hits, and Green could feel Blue's confidence wavering in every step and sword swing the more they screamed at each other.

His interjection got them back into a brooding rhythm that kept them alive. The Moblin, according to Vio, didn't bleed black, but that was hardly a comfort. Even normal Moblins were formidable.

"Backflip!" Vio ordered.

Green felt it as Blue guided their body into the familiar maneuver. He felt it as they landed, as jagged metal ripped the side of their head open and pain flared up, white hot, as their back hit the ground, as their fingers flew open, releasing their sword, and their mouth opened in what he could only assume was a scream because he wanted to scream.

And he did, only it wasn't verbal.

"What happened, what happened?" Red asked, his tone frantic. His panic only increased when their companion's screams of "Four!" met his ears.

"We got hit. The Moblin feinted. I…it looked like it was going to swing horizontally but-" Vio's words deserted him as guilt took over. He'd misjudged and they'd all paid for it.

Green would have said it was fine. But it wasn't. It _hurt_! He could feel the blood running down their face, into their left eye. They couldn't fight like this. Everything was mixed up. It hurt his head and not just because of the injury. Oh goddesses, their head had a heartbeat.

"Don't touch it, Blue!" Green hissed through gritted teeth that didn't belong to him.

Green almost expected them all to spill out of the wound, him, Red, Vio, and Blue. What would that feel like? Did he want to know?

"Stay still, Blue. Warrior is saying to stay still," Red said, his voice wavering with tears he couldn't cry.

There was no response from Blue aside from a pained groan. Green shared the sentiment.

"Sorry, guys," Vio apologized.

"It's not your fault," Red reassured him, though they all knew it kind of was. Just a little.

"…Blue, can you open your eyes?" Red asked.

Vio still couldn't see so he took that as a no.

Hands were all over them. Cradling their head. Ghosting over their forehead. Voices were everywhere but they were faint and fading one second, then flaring and too loud the next. It was too much. One wanted to scream in pain, one in frustration, one wanted to hide away with his guilt, and one wanted to cry. None of them got what they wanted.

Green's next memory was of waking with a pounding in his head and pain behind his eyes. He was laying on something soft, which was really the only plus side. The muffled conversation going on around him only amplified the throbbing in his head. Wait. The muffled conversation. He could _hear_.

He snapped his eyes open. A wooden ceiling, and figures in his peripherals. He could see!

Experimentally, Green flexed his fingers beneath the covers on top of him. They responded.

He shot up into a sitting position, marveling at how his body obeyed him. _His_ body. It ached but it was his to move and hear and see and talk with! It brought a tiny smile to his face that was quickly chased away by the dizziness and barrage of pain that pummeled him without warning.

"Whoa! You shouldn't be up yet," 'Rule exclaimed, suddenly by his side and guiding him to lay back down. His head hit a fluffy pillow. Pillow?

He groaned, putting a hand to his head and meeting bandages. He squinted at 'Rule. "Where…?"

"My house." His eyes –_his_ eyes!- flicked to Legend.

"Four!" It was all the warning he received before Wind jumped onto the bed he was laying on and wrapped him up in a hug.

"Careful, Wind! He's still hurt," Warrior reprimanded him.

Wind pulled away immediately and searched Green's face for pain. "Sorry. I was just worried and you were out for so long I thought…"

Green put on the best reassuring smile he could, tears rushing to his eyes but not falling. Red was close. "It's okay. I'm fine." _We're_ fine. Fine was subjective, but considering none of them had been in complete control until now, they were definitely better off than they were. Funny, that it took a hit to the head to get one of them to front fully.

"You definitely have a concussion," Legend announced in a blasé manner. Green winced at that. Concussions meant lots of rest and darkness. Which meant no travel. Crap. They were going to slow everyone down. "Luckily, for you, I don't charge rent."

Green offered Legend a half-smile for his joke.

"How are you feeling?" 'Rule asked.

Horrible. Wonderful. "My head's killing me."

"To be expected," Warrior nodded sagely. "You took quite the hit. Did you not see that Moblin swinging that spear at you?"

Not personally, no. Green just shrugged. He figured it was safer than any other answer.

"Here," 'Rule pressed a bottle full of red potion into his hand. "That should help a bit."

And it did. Just a bit.

"Think you can eat?" Wild wondered, holding up a bowl he'd just ladled some food into from a pot over a crackling fire in the fireplace. The light of the fire glared painfully into his retinas, and Green instinctively turned his face away.

Still, eating wasn't a bad idea. "Sure."

Dinner really wasn't really a bad idea. It revitalized him and made him temporarily forget about the ache in his head. But it also invited time for conversation. Fortunately, Green had sufficient practice at schooling his expression.

Red was the first to speak. _"We should tell them."_

"_No way!"_ It was no surprise to Green that Blue was against it.

"_Why not?"_

"_We have no way to prove it,"_ Blue retorted. _"They're just going to think "Four" isn't right in the head if we claim, 'oh, by the way, there's three more people in here! They take over sometimes but it's nothing to worry about.'"_

Blue had a point. If they could split, it would be considerably easier to convince the others that they were four separate people in one body. But they couldn't. They had replaced the Four Sword in its pedestal. The sword they carried now was but a sentimental replica. It wasn't magic. He should know. He'd crafted it himself. With help from the other three, of course.

"_They won't,"_ Red argued, but it had no fire behind it.

"_They will! And then they'll act like we're broken and nothing will ever be the same. The answer is no. Come on, back me up here, Vio."_

"_Red's right. We should be honest with them."_

"_Are you an idiot?!" _Blue demanded, his tone suggesting he didn't need an answer.

"_Look at it logically for a moment," _Vio said, knowing fully well such thinking was beyond Blue._ "If something like what happened today happens again in the future, we'll only be a liability."_

"_We'll be a liability either way! Even if they know-"_

"_If they know, they can protect us!" _Vio shot back. Green's head was pounding with a vengeance again, and it wasn't because of the injury. _"I understand your concern. I share it. Even so, we can't keep lying to them. You can't doubt that it puts a lot of strain on us to keep up this façade of being one person. When you're in control, don't you want to act like yourself instead of having to hold back all the time?"_

"_What I _want,_ is to be normal."_

A hush fell over his head. That's all any of them wanted. To live their own lives. Except, they were all stuck sharing one body.

"_This would be the closest we could get," _Vio stated finally.

Blue knew Vio was right, which was exactly why he snapped, _"Shut up!"_ so forcefully that Green flinched.

"_We should vote. For or against,"_ Red proposed. _"That's fair, right?"_

"_I'm for telling them,"_ Vio announced.

"_Against,"_ Blue seethed.

"_For,"_ Red said. _"Green?"_

He didn't know. What was the best option? Vio had a point, but so did Blue. And what if they did tell? How could he say it in a way that wouldn't make everyone else immediately assume he was bonkers?

"-ur? Four!" A hand on his shoulder brought him back to the present and he snapped his head up and around, his gaze coming to rest on Sky.

Concern lined the Skyloftian's face. "Are you okay? You spaced out."

"I…" Green dropped his eyes down to his half eaten bowl of pumpkin stew, suddenly feeling sick. "Yeah. I'm good."

He must not have looked it because Time spoke up next. "I think you should turn in for the night."

"You can sleep in my bed. Come on." Legend took the bowl from him and set it aside, moving to help him up.

Green shook his head, though, ignoring how it made the room spin. "I need to tell you all something." Blue was already screaming obscenities in his head.

"You can tell us in the morning," Legend said, heaving Green to his feet and guiding him over to the bed.

"No. Now. I need to tell you now." There was no guarantee he'd be in control in the morning. And even if he was, he was sure he'd lose his courage.

"What's wrong?" Twilight demanded, his overprotectiveness flaring. It would have been funny if it wasn't so misplaced. Would the ranch-hand still be protective of him—of them—when he knew the truth? That they'd lied to his face—to everyone's faces—all this time?

"Earlier…when we switched worlds-" Green clamped his mouth shut. No, that wasn't the way to explain it. But it was so difficult to think of words with Blue screaming. Habit drew his hand to his head.

"You should lay down," Time said. "Relax. We can talk tomorrow, like Legend said."

"No, it's not that," Green insisted. _Shut up, Blue! _Unfortunately, thoughts didn't penetrate to the three in his head like spoken words did.

"_You're giving him a headache, Blue. Knock it off."_ Vio ordered.

"_Good, then he won't tell."_

"_If he doesn't, I will next time I'm out,"_ Vio retorted.

"_You can't make that decision!"_

"_I can. We took a vote. It's three to one."_

Blue swore.

Vio ignored him. _"Green, tell them about the Four Sword. How it split us and then put us back together. Then you can explain about what happened today."_

Right. Of course. That made sense. Green raised his head, dropping his hand to his lap. Everyone's worried faces put him on edge so he tried his best not to look at them directly. "On my adventures, I used a magic sword called the Four Sword. It…split me into four people based off of distinct personality traits. That's all they were at first. But then they turned into people, and when we put the sword back at the end…all four of us were crammed back into one body. But there were four distinct minds at that point so..." He splayed his hands helplessly.

"Wait, back up." Legend held up a hand. "What are you trying to say? There's more than one of you running around?"

Green shook his head. "There's more than one of me in here." He tapped his temple lightly. "Three more, to be exact."

Legend regarded him with suspicion as if he believed the hit he'd taken earlier may have scrambled his brains.

Green sighed, trying and failing to ignore Blue's sharp _I told you so's! _"Look, I know it's hard to believe, but it's true."

"So…you hear voices in your head?" 'Rule asked, trying to follow along.

"No, well, _yes_. Sometimes, a lot of the time. But it's not just that. We also…switch."

"Switch?" Wind wondered, cocking his head to the side curiously.

"We switch who has control of the body," Green explained. "Like, I'm in control right now, but I'm not always in control. Sometimes it's Red, sometimes it's Vio, and sometimes it's Blue."

"You're all named after colors?" Warrior concluded with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms as if judging their naming system.

Red was already taking offense, and Green had to scramble to find words that would both reassure and provide an answer. "Technically it's Link, like all of you, but we just went with our tunic colors. The ones we had when we were separate, I mean. It was easiest."

"So you're Green, then?" Time guessed, eyeing his patch-worked tunic.

"Yes."

"And you guys have been switching places all this time we've been together?" Twilight wondered. At his nod, the Ordonian continued. "How have we not noticed?!"

His lips twitched up in a small, sheepish smile. "We're pretty good at hiding it."

"Can you switch out now? Can we meet the others?" Wind asked, bouncing on his toes excitedly.

Green's small smile fell, and he directed his gaze to the floor. "No. We can't switch out on command. It's random." And it was fortunate that it was because otherwise he was sure there would be a lot of fighting over "turns."

He could practically hear Vio protesting, "_It's not random! I _told_ you…"_

"I mean,_ I_ think it's random. Vio thinks otherwise. According to him, who's in control depends on what's going on around us. Whoever aligns with that energy the most will usually be in control."

"So you align with stressful situations?" Warrior surmised.

"Heh, I guess so. I am the leader, er, I was when we were split anyway."

"No offense, but being four people in one body sounds like a major pain," Legend spoke up gruffly, arms crossed. "Why don't you guys just split off like before?"

"Trust me, if we could we would," Green returned. "But we need the Four Sword in order to do that."

"Isn't that the Four Sword?" Warrior asked, nodding to Green's sword and pack that was leaning against the bed.

"It's a replica. The real thing is in a pedestal in our Hyrule, and we can't pull it out because it's acting as a seal to keep Ganon at bay."

"That sucks," Legend observed.

Green didn't disagree. "We manage."

"What are the others like?" Wind asked. His boundless energy was pulling Red forward. Green could feel it in the way he didn't quite feel all here.

"Um, Red's…the optimistic emotional one. Blue is the hot-tempered one, always looking for a fight. And Vio…" Green took a deep breath and curled his hand into a fist, concentrating on how his nails carved crescents into his skin. "Vio is the smart one. Cool, collected, logical."

"So who was fighting those Moblins with us earlier?" Wild wondered.

Right. That. "Uh…that was…a group effort."

At their perplexed expressions, Green continued. "We almost always switch when we change Hyrules. This time, we switched but something went wrong. We were all conscious, but no one had full control of the body. I could only feel but I couldn't move. Blue could move but he couldn't see or hear. Vio could only see, and Red could only hear."

"And you guys fought like that?!" Twilight exclaimed, all the possibilities for what could have gone wrong besides what did likely running through his head.

"We tried."

"Dear Din! That had to require immense coordination," Warrior realized. He dipped his head. "Respect."

"I agree; it's impressive. But also dangerous. Why didn't you say anything before now?" Time asked, defaulting into disappointed parent mode.

"We were scared that you guys would think we were insane," Green admitted.

"Oh please," Legend rolled his eyes. "We've all been through crazy crap. Why wouldn't we believe you guys?"

Green shrugged. Now he just felt silly. But he did feel a little better now that Blue wasn't screaming his metaphorical head off anymore. In fact, all of them had gone quiet. Another sign that a switch was imminent.

"Besides, it's not much different than our situation. Eight Links? What's four more?" Sky chimed in, smiling.

"Hey, four!" Wind exclaimed. "Your nickname makes sense now!"

Green laughed at that. Or maybe it was Red that laughed. It was hard to tell.

"Speaking of nicknames, I'm guessing you guys don't want to be called Four, anymore, huh?" 'Rule spoke up.

"Well, if it's not too much trouble then…yeah, we'd like to be called by our usual nicknames."

"Will you guys let us know when you switch?" Wind asked, appearing worried. "I don't know if I'll be able to tell."

"You'll be able to tell," Green assured him. "But…" He blinked. His eyes couldn't focus. He rubbed at them. Nope, now the fog was even worse. Dangit Red.

"Are you okay?" Time asked.

"Yeah, I just…" _I'm switching._ But he didn't want to. Suddenly it was terrifying _because_ everyone knew. Before, they had no idea. They had no reason to watch, to stare, to expect, but now they did. Green wanted to stay in control and explain everything because Red was always all over the place when he explained anything, and Vio talked too much, and Blue said too little, and he might not even know what they said until he came out next.

"Are you switching?" The fact that Twilight's voice sounded just as protective as always lifted the weight off Green's chest so that he could answer.

"Yes."

"Really? What does it feel like?"

"Wind! Don't ask questions _now_. Just wait," Twilight scolded the youngest hero.

"Let us know if we can do anything to help," He thought that was Sky. Maybe.

And though he didn't want to, he knew that fighting it would only hurt the body in the long run so he said, "Wind, hug me."

There was no hesitance. The sailor lurched forward and wrapped his arms around him, squeezing him tight. Hopefully that would bring-

Red was rocketed forward and Green was flung back.

"Ow!" Red wasn't prepared for the heartbeat in his head.

Wind released him immediately, stepping back with a guilty look on his face. "Sorry, Green! I didn't mean to-"

"You didn't! I just didn't expect my head to hurt so much. It surprised me," Red reassured him, regarding his friend with teary eyes as he clutched at his aching head. "Oh! And…I'm Red."

Wind grinned. "Hi, Red. Nice to meet you!"

"Hi," Red said, giggling because they'd already met. Only Wind didn't know that. None of them knew. The thought sobered him. "Um…you guys aren't mad at us for lying, are you?" He bunched the hem of their tunic in his hands, dreading the answer. They didn't _look_ or _sound_ mad but he knew better than anyone how deceiving such appearances could be.

"No! Not at all," Wind assured him. "We get it."

Daring a peek, Red was greeted with the rest of the heroes nodding in agreement, kindness on every one of their faces.

"We all have secrets," Legend added, his face twisted in an expression Red recalled seeing on Blue a lot in the past, usually when he didn't want to admit he had a heart. "Who are we to judge for you guys keeping yours?"

Red beamed. They were still a family! _See, Blue? Nothing to worry about!_

Blue didn't respond, but Red didn't expect him to. If he wanted Blue to respond, he'd have to talk out loud and even though the others were accepting them, it was still kind of weird to talk to someone only you could hear. Besides that, their connection was always lost immediately after switching, so there was no guarantee Blue could even hear him if he did speak aloud.

"Your voice sounds a bit different. Is it just me or…?" Wild trailed off, uncertain.

"Nope!" Red chirped, swinging his feet and loving the fact that he could act one hundred percent like himselffor a change. "I'm talking how I like to talk now. Before I pitched it to match Green's. We all did." Red stilled his body and dropped his voice a little lower into a perfect impression of Green. "Maybe we just switched. Maybe we didn't. What do you think?"

"Uhh…I want to say no, but I also don't know how fast switches can happen," Wild said.

Red laughed and broke the façade. When he spoke again, he used his own voice. "You're right. It's still me. But we can switch really fast like that sometimes."

"What _is_ switching like?" Wind wondered, leaning forward eagerly. "Does it hurt?"

Red scrunched up his face in thought, then immediately abandoned the expression when it sent a spark of fresh pain through his head. "It doesn't really hurt. Except sometimes it gives us headaches, and _those_ hurt so I guess it does hurt a bit but mostly it doesn't. And switching itself is like lots of pressure building and building and then-" Red hopped off the bed and threw his arms out wide. "Boom! Suddenly you're out. Or in, depending."

A wave of dizziness struck him suddenly, threatening to tip him over. Luckily, Legend and Wind were close enough to steady him. Red winced. Apparently the body wasn't ready to have him tossing it around how he pleased.

"That's enough questions," Time declared. "We can talk more in the morning."

"No, I'm fine!" Red protested. "I just got up too fast."

"You have a concussion, idiot," Legend grumbled as he and Wind gently guided Red to sit back on the bed.

The news was such a shock that Red didn't take the time to lament over Legend's name calling. "I do?"

"You don't remember us telling Green that earlier?" 'Rule asked, concern creasing his brow.

Red resisted the urge to shake his head. "No."

"What's the first thing you do remember?" Time asked carefully.

"Everyone was eating."

"Is it normal to have gaps like that?" Twilight worried.

"Yup!" Red replied, trying to be cheerier than he felt at the moment because he didn't want to worry the others over nothing. "We're usually all aware of what's going on, but if we fall asleep or pass out and wake up then those inside lose time. The same thing happens when we switch. Sometimes it just happens, but that's rare."

"Sounds disorienting," Sky commented.

"It is. That's why we always have meetings at bedtime."

Warrior snapped his fingers. and it sounded like a bomb exploding. "_That's_ why you're always talking in your sleep!"

"Not asleep," Red corrected him. "And it's not always me. Sometimes it's one of the others."

"Right, I know; that's what I meant."

"You guys can't all communicate telepathically?" Wind wondered.

"We kinda can, but whoever is out needs to talk for us inside to hear them." He put a hand to his bandaged temple, massaging it lightly.

"Well, going forward if any of you guys need a recap, just let us know," Twilight said with a smile.

Red returned it. Having the other heroes aware of their situation was going to make keeping track of things so much easier.

"Now sleep," Legend ordered, forcing him to lay down.

That was just about the last thing he wanted to do with his time out. However, the lethargy in his limbs and pounding of his head told him it was necessary and ignoring the body's needs was a big no-no. They had all agreed. Personal desires came second. The body came first.

Therefore, Red didn't argue. He closed his eyes and hoped to slip into sleep before his brothers rejoined him. Nothing against Green, Blue, and Vio, of course, but falling asleep was always a challenge with three not-at-all tired minds awake and alert.

The other eight heroes kept their voices low as they left him to rest, but he didn't miss all their questions and speculations or quiet exclamations of how different he and Green were and how they couldn't wait to meet the others properly.

If nothing else, Red supposed the concussion was good for one thing. It gave them plenty of time to interact with everyone while their body was recovering, and unlike before, they'd be able to show their true colors.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Everyone was growing antsy being cooped up in Legend's house for the past week and a half so when Warrior declared the Four Sword Heroes officially "no longer concussed" there was much celebration, inside and out.

Of course, there were still concerns, mostly from Time and Twilight, but Green was quick to reassure them, and everyone else, that there was nothing to worry about, even if he wasn't exactly sure if that was true.

Contrary to what Red believed, recovering from their concussion had not been ample time for all their colors to show. This was especially unfortunate in Red's case since he possessed the lowest pain tolerance of them all. Luckily, Wild had plenty of natural painkillers on hand, and Green switched out with Red fairly regularly, so he wasn't left bearing the agony of their injury alone.

However, Blue and Vio, to the disappointment and concern of many, hadn't gained control once. It could have been a side-effect of the concussion. In fact, that was what Vio speculated, and Green was inclined to believe him, if only so he could worry less. Not that it actually worked.

_"Does this mean Blue and Vio will be able to be out now?"_ Red asked hopefully.

_"It's likely,"_ Vio said, and Green quietly hummed in agreement as he tugged on his boots. _"Though, I'd prefer it if we could check. Just to ensure nothing is wrong."_

_"And how do you propose we check?"_ Blue demanded with much more venom than necessary. He'd been especially short lately, and Green could only assume it was because he hadn't fronted in over a week. To be honest, it would make Green stir-crazy too. Not being able to move and speak as you liked was maddening.

"_We could try to force a switch."_

"_Oh, sure!"_ Blue exclaimed, sarcasm soaking his every word. _"Just snap your fingers, Green. Let me or Vio take over since you and Red have been hogging the body for forever."_

"_We haven't been doing it on purpose!"_ Red reminded him.

"_Exactly, so how does Violet think he's going to make us switch on command?"_

"_First of all, don't call me Violet,"_ Vio said. _"Second, I've noticed that there are certain objects and situations that draw out one of us over the others. Therefore, in theory…"_

That's about when Green stopped listening. Or maybe Vio, Blue, and Red retreated to the back of the headspace, and it was slightly more difficult to hear them. Conscious decision or not, the heroes were heading out soon, and he had to finish getting ready.

After strapping on his replica Four Sword, Green reached for his headband, only for his palm to slap the empty side-table instead. A quick scan of the surrounding area informed him that the cloth had not fallen off the table. It had been moved. Most likely by Red.

Green immediately began to rifle through his bag, pushing aside items irritably. "I swear, Red, if I have to dump this entire thing out…"

"_What are you looking for?"_ Red asked.

"The headband. Where'd you put it?"

"_Uhhh…"_

That was never a good answer. "In our bag?"

"_No."_

"Of course not," Green grumbled. "Because why would you put it somewhere obvious?"

Tears burned the back of his eyes._ "I took it off last night because it was hurting my head, and then Wind and I were playing with it, but I don't remember where it ended up. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to misplace it."_

Green sighed, sitting back on his heels and rubbing his eyes. "It's fine." And it was. There was no reason to get so angry about it. In fact, he normally wouldn't be so frustrated so soon, which could only mean this wasn't his frustration. It was probably Blue's. Goddesses knew he'd been angry enough lately.

"Green, you okay?" He looked over to find Sky eyeing him uncertainly.

He offered a smile, hoping any remaining anger on his face would be dissuaded from staying. "Yeah. I just can't find my headband."

"It's not in your bag?"

He shook his head. "Red said…Wind!"

The sailor turned at his name. "Yeah?"

"Do you know where my headband is?"

"Um, maybe? I don't know for sure. Somewhere over there, I think," Wind said, pointing towards one of the many cluttered corners of Legend's house. Green didn't particularly feel like searching, especially since Legend was especially possessive of his clutter, but he got up to look anyway.

Sky helped him search, and Wind bounded over to help once he was finished fastening his shield to his back.

"No offense, Legend, but your house is a mess," Sky spoke up after a couple minutes of fruitless searching.

"It is _not_ a mess," Legend objected, striding over to them with purpose. "It's organized chaos."

"How can chaos be organized?" Wind wondered.

Legend ignored him. "What are you looking for?"

"My headband."

It took all of ten seconds before Legend was passing Green the missing piece of cloth. "Here." He then smirked at Sky and Wind. "See? Organized chaos."

"_Wow!"_ Had Red been out, Green was sure he'd be clapping along with Wind and gazing up at Legend in awe. As it was, Green opted to convey his amazement with a simple "thank you" before sweeping his hair off of his face using his newly found headband.

"_We should all get a headband that matches our color_," Red chattered as Green walked back to grab his bag. _"Then we could switch it anytime we switch so everyone doesn't have to keep asking who's out."_

Green wasn't opposed to the idea. In fact, he'd always felt a little guilty about having the headband be his color. He felt like it was an insult to the others and not entirely fair. However, before he could voice this – quietly as he still didn't feel comfortable speaking at full volume to someone no one else could hear – Vio interjected with his own request.

"_Is it okay with you if we switch, Green?"_

"If you can, go for it," Green replied. He wasn't going to deny Vio time in control since he hadn't had any for days.

"_I'll need a book. Ask Legend for one."_

Green failed to see how this was going to change anything but that was usually the point of things Vio did. It all made sense afterwards.

"Hey, Legend, can I borrow a book?"

Legend quirked an eyebrow. "You know we're leaving, right? You don't have time to read. Unless you plan on doing it while we walk, in which case, good luck not walking into anything because I'm not going to be your eyes."

"_It's an experiment,"_ Vio said.

"It's an experiment," Green parroted.

"For?"

"_Science."_

Somehow, Green didn't think that answer would persuade Legend. "Vio wants to see if we can force a switch so he can come out."

"I thought you guys had no control over switches," 'Rule piped up.

"We don't. That's why this is an experiment." He turned back to Legend. "So? Can I borrow a book really quick?"

"_Alternatively, we could go to a library,"_ Vio added.

"_Gods, no! You'll bore us all to death_!" Blue exclaimed while Red groaned in agreement.

"You have really bad timing," Legend complained, but he plucked a random tome off of a nearby bookshelf and tossed it to Green anyway.

Reflex caught the caught the book for him, but it was Vio that leveled a glare at the Hero of Legend. "Don't throw books." Only heathens threw books.

"You asked for a book," Legend said matter-of-factly. "There's a book."

"Mmm, and one I can't read at that," Vio hummed, casually fanning through the pages filed with foreign Hylian scrawl. Then again, he hadn't expected to be able to read it. He snapped the book shut and flicked his eyes up to scan the assortment of heroes in the room. "You all have to teach me your written Hylian sometime. And I'll teach you ours, of course."

Vio strolled over to Legend, silently relishing in how his body responded to him, and handed over the book like a civilized person. Legend took it, eyeing him critically. "You're not Green, are you?"

"Perceptive." Vio smiled, and there were no words to describe how great the miniscule movement of muscle felt. "I'm Vio."

"The experiment worked then?" Hyrule wondered, sounding surprised.

"Seems so," Vio agreed, flexing his fingers and analyzing their responsiveness. There was no delay and all movements were fluid, not shaky in the least. He was in full control.

Unfortunately, there was no telling how long it would remain that way. Forcing switches was a completely new, unexplored concept, which had been part of the reason why he'd decided to wait until they weren't concussed anymore to attempt it.

A headache pounded at the backs of his eyes, but other than that Vio felt right as rain. He didn't know about the others yet, but hopefully they'd come to the front soon enough like they usually did. For now, Vio was alone, and he couldn't say that he minded all that much.

"Welcome, Vio," Time acknowledged him with a nod. "It's great to meet you officially."

"Likewise," Vio returned with a nod of his own. Honestly, it was nice just to hear his name come from another person's mouth.

To his delight, he heard it plenty in the next couple minutes as the rest of the heroes crowded him with welcomes and greetings.

"Why couldn't you come out until now?" Wind asked, tilting his head to the side curiously.

Vio, who typically had an answer to everything, had no answer to this. Technically, he should have fronted way before this experiment of his. He'd wanted so desperately to answer questions and lay out his theories to the rest of the group while they were recovering. Personal interests didn't necessarily correlate with fronting, but external stimuli did and all the boxes had been ticked on numerous occasions to trigger Vio into control. At least, they had in Vio's opinion.

Of course, they had been concussed at the time, but that didn't inhibit Red and Green from switching at all. In fact, Vio had paid careful attention during the past few days and had been able to predict nearly every switch based off of the surrounding environment.

It was like he and Blue had been pushed back into a corner and held captive there. Could it be a side effect of their getting scrambled upon switching eras? Vio had no way to be sure. In any case, there was no use in worrying about it now, since he'd been able to be triggered into center stage and that meant Blue likely could be too.

"I'm not entirely certain, but it was probably the concussion," he decided finally.

"Whatever the reason, it doesn't matter," Legend declared matter-of-factly. He held up the book in his hand with a smirk. "Now we know how to get you out if we want to talk to you. Just throw a book."

"Do _not_." Vio was somewhat shocked by his own severe tone but Legend didn't seem to be affected.

Legend simply raised an eyebrow. "Why? Books don't have feelings, you know."

"They're sacred tomes of knowledge and you will respect them," Vio countered hotly. Blue had to be close because the words were Vio's but the bite behind them wasn't. "Moreover, _we _have feelings. Don't even think of trying to force us to switch. We did it just now because we wanted to and it was okay with all of us. None of you get to decide who fronts when. It happens when it happens, and if you _ever_ trigger one of us without our permission, you will be sorry." Oh, that threat screamed Blue. Or at least, it was Blue inspired because Vio found that he meant what he said. He would be livid with anyone that triggered him or one of his brothers out without permission.

Legend took a step back, turning to replace the book on an already overflowing bookshelf. "Okay, noted. Sorry."

The change in the air was apparent at once and everyone shuffled awkwardly.

Vio cleared his throat as if that would somehow clear the tension from the room. "I believe we were leaving…?"

The heroes were reanimated then, as if their forgetful puppeteer had picked up the strings again, and they all scrambled to grab the last of their things and head out the door.

It was only once they had all filed outside that their energy waned.

"Where are we going, again?" Sky wondered, hand creeping towards the back of his neck like he was embarrassed for forgetting their destination in the first place. He needn't have felt such a thing, for no one knew where they were going. Not even their resident Link.

Legend did, however, have a plan. "We're asking one of my friends for assistance."

"Ravio?" Vio guessed.

"No." The pink-haired hero took out a golden bell and rang it.

The clanging it made didn't sound any different than an ordinary bell, but Vio knew better than to assume it was normal. Especially since it belonged to a fellow hero. Their items could rarely be classified as normal.

The other Links had the same thought, casting their gazes around in expectation, only to be disappointed when nothing happened. There was some impatient shifting. A cough. Still, nothing happened.

"Uh-" Twilight's doubt was interrupted by a girl flying down from the sky atop a broom.

"Listen here, Greenie, I-" The witch girl's words, for she could only be a witch judging by the pointed hat and flying broom, stuttered to a stop when she noticed the other eight heroes. Her eyes quickly found Legend, and she raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "I am _not_ ferrying all of you across Hyrule."

"That's not what I called you here for."

"Good because I'm not doing it. Now, tell me why you really called me to your lame family reunion and make it snappy. I'm in the middle of running errands, you know!"

Legend obliged. "Have you encountered any strange monsters lately? Specifically with black blood?"

Ah, so that was his plan. Gathering information. Vio approved. It was a logical place to start. Unfortunately, Legend's witch friend had no information to give.

"Nope." She attempted to fly off, and Legend was quick to attach himself to the end of her broom. The extra weight didn't go unnoticed. The young witch ground to a halt, twisting around in her seat to glare at Legend. "Get off!"

"Answer my questions, and I will."

She shot the snarky hero a withering look that he seemed to enjoy and lowered her broom so she could place her feet flat on the ground. She swung off the broom and tugged the end out of Legend's hand, standing the broom next to her like a staff, and placing one hand on her cocked hip.

Legend took that as his cue to continue his interrogation. "Has your grandma seen anything?"

"Link, my gram stays in her hut all day and makes me run errands for her. HOW WOULD SHE SEE ANYTHING?!"

"Okay, stupid question," Legend acquiesced. "Have you heard anything about monsters that are stronger than usual?"

"No."

"How about-"

"_Did it work?" _Green's voice startled him more than it should have, but everyone was paying too much attention to the exchange between Legend and his friend to notice.

"_I'm inside!"_ Red chirped happily. _"Are you out Vio?"_

He gave a definitive nod in response, and though Green and Red couldn't feel it, Vio knew they could see the dip in his gaze.

"_Yay! Vio's out! Vio's out!"_

The bookish hero couldn't help smiling at Red's enthusiasm. It was literally contagious.

And it was only made more so by Green's praise. _"I knew it would work; your plans never fail. Great job, Vio!"_

"_We should experiment with it more sometime," _Red said. _"Maybe we'll be able to control our switches more!"_

Vio expressed his agreement with another nod, euphoria floating light and airy in his chest and showing no signs of abating as Red and Green continued to chatter and cheer over the experiment's success.

They were so loud that it was difficult to ignore them, but with some intense concentration, Vio managed to tune back into the conversation, concentrating on the girl's odd blue hair.

"…If I had a sample, my gram could run some tests, see what's in the blood that's making them go cucco. But if you want my opinion, it's dark magic. Usually is when it comes to monsters."

"Right, but could you determine a source, maybe?"

"Maybe. I'd need the blood in question, or rather, my gram would."

"We don't have a sample.

"Then get one and when you do-" The girl stepped forward, wielding the broom like a spear and thrusting the tip of it at Legend's face. "-you're going to use those legs of yours to WALK to my grams, got it?"

"Sure," Legend said, pushing the broom aside with the back of his hand.

"Hmph." The witch turned her back on him, twirling her broom in her hand and mounting it once more. This time, Legend let her fly off.

"So…girlfriend?" Warrior asked with a smirk.

"Shut up," Legend snapped, catching his shoulder on the way past.

Vio smiled at his companion's antics, and fell into step with the rest of the group, content to listen to the others laugh at Warrior's teasing. It seemed that they were just going to walk until they ran into an infected monster, which, considering the fact that they'd been doing that unintentionally in every era they'd been to thus far, shouldn't have posed much of a challenge.

Vio was satisfied with this arrangement because it allowed him plenty of time to explore his newfound freedom.

"Wild, may I see your Sheikah Slate?"

"Um, sure, I guess." Wild replied, handing it over. "What do you want it for?"

"I'm just curious," Vio said as he accepted the slate from Wild. It was lighter than he'd been expecting. "I want to know how it works."

"_Here he goes…"_

"I don't even know how it works," Wild admitted.

"_Aw, let him have it, Blue! We've all had a chance to act like ourselves outside. Well, not you, yet. But you will!" _Red insisted.

"_Probably magic,"_ Green guessed, ignoring Red's and Blue's comments.

"Not magic," Vio declared. He knew what magic felt like, and as he held the slate and tapped on its smooth, mirror-like surface, he felt nothing.

"It's definitely science, er, technology," Wild agreed. "Zelda always corrects me when I call it magic. I think you two would get along well, actually. Are you interested in science?"

"Very much so," Vio said, drawing an apple from the slate and then trying, and failing, to put it back, much to the amusement of the voices in his head. Not that they knew how the slate functioned either. He turned to Wild. "How do you put things back?"

"Tap here," Wild instructed him, grabbing the other side of the slate and pointing at an arrow icon in the corner. "Then…" The long-haired hero guided the hand that was holding the apple to touch the slate and the fruit disappeared.

"Fascinating."

Blue yawned._ "Boring."_

"_I think it's neat!"_

"_It's definitely different."_

Vio flipped the slate around so the Sheikah Eye emblazoned on the back stared up at him, half expecting to see the mechanism that had stored the apple away. Of course, there wasn't anything of the sort there. He'd have to take it apart if he wanted to determine how it functioned. However, it was unlikely Wild would let him do such a thing.

"I can show you how the rest of the slate works, if you want," Wild offered.

"Please." Vio nodded eagerly, ignoring Blue's groans about being bored to death and the subsequent chatter of Red and Green telling Blue to quit being so selfish.

It was freeing, being able to say and act how he pleased. How he felt most comfortable.

His pleasure didn't go unnoticed by his impromptu teacher. "If you're so interested in the slate, why didn't you say so before?"

"It's too me."

Wild's quiet, "oh" was one Vio had grown accustomed to hearing from the others. It wasn't an "oh, I understand." It was an "oh…I don't get it."

"I'm the only one of us genuinely interested in things like this." Vio waved the Sheikah Slate in the air for clarification. "If I had expressed that before, everyone else would have had to feign interest, and to be frank, they're not capable."

"_I'll show you capable!"_ Blue shot back.

Vio rolled his eyes. Blue was the last person that could pretend to be him and get away with it.

"So you never got to do anything you wanted until now?" Wild wondered, sounding crestfallen.

"Not exactly. I enjoy smithing, and there's always something to fix, thanks to you," Vio returned with a teasing smile.

Wild laughed. "I'm not that bad, am I?"

"No, but your weapons are." All levity vanished from his posture and tone. "You really have to stop taking whatever you can get from monsters. I do like the work, but the scraps of metal and splinters you call weapons are hardly worth fixing."

"_Yeah! We can make you a sword and shield that won't break_!" Red chimed in.

Vio nodded in agreement before remembering Wild couldn't hear Red and repeating Red's offer out loud.

A shout of "Monsters ahead!" choked off Wild's reply, and Vio's hand flew to his sword, unsheathing it. He was towards the back of the group, as usual, and by the time Vio returned the tablet to Wild and managed to work his way to the front, he found the Chuchus already dissolving into puddles of green goo. Nothing about them indicated they were infected.

"_Finally something exciting and you're so slow you miss the battle!" _Blue griped.

"_I don't think there were many enemies to begin with, Blue,"_ Green said. Looking around, Vio had to agree. Besides, ChuChus were hardly formidable foes. At least, when one wasn't the size of a Picori. They hadn't missed much excitement.

"Figures when we're looking for infected monsters we can't find them," Legend grumbled, flinging Chu goop off his sword.

"Maybe it didn't spread to your world yet," Wind suggested.

"Doubt it," Legend scoffed.

"I'm sure we'll run into more sooner or later," Sky reassured him. "We always do."

"Right, let's keep moving," Time agreed. "Legend?" He eyed the resident hero, indicating that he should resume his place at the front. Legend did so, and they all fell into step behind him.

Vio kept his sword in his hand, opting to stay alert. Blue's anger, while nothing new, was justified in this case. It was foolish of Vio to get so distracted when they were seeking out trouble. Had it been something more dangerous than a few Chuchus, Vio could have gotten himself killed. Blue, Red, and Green, too.

Of course, the other chosen heroes probably wouldn't let such a thing happen. They protected each other instinctively, just like the Four Sword heroes used to and still did—to the best of their abilities, anyway.

However, it was wrong to expect the others to mind his negligence, especially when he was fully capable of paying attention. And anyway, they couldn't catch everything either. All it took was one fatal hit. At the end of the day, it came down to a choice, and Vio prided himself on making the right one.

He could fawn over the technology from Wild's era later. Now was the time for vigilance.

Unfortunately, without something concrete to engage him, Vio quickly found himself slipping. His head was in a fog and for an instant he worried that he had caused it with his experiment. He writ the thought off as ridiculous almost as soon as it assailed him. None of his physical symptoms were different than normal. Headache? Check. Floaty dream feeling? Check. Audible inconsistencies? Check.

Just a regular day in the life.

Vio couldn't help feeling disappointed that he was being pulled back already. He exchanged his sword for his bow in an attempt to ground himself, seeing as he was the best archer of the four of them, and therefore, used the bow the most. Running his hands along the wood helped.

Until they were ambushed, that is. Vio was able to loose one arrow before he was shoved aside, and Blue jolted into control.

Dizziness struck him, and he stumbled, blinking away the fog with practiced ease and tuning in to his surroundings. Strange lizard-like monsters with leathery wings swarmed the air.

Wild already had his bow out and was firing arrows, and though the bow wasn't Blue's strong suit, it was already in his hand so he nocked an arrow. To his dismay, their arrows pinged harmlessly off of the creatures' round shields.

"What are these things?" Legend demanded, lowering his own bow in favor of rolling out of the way of a gutsy monster that rushed him. The creature was in the air and out of reach again with a powerful beat of its leathery wings.

"Aeralfos," Twilight and Warrior said in unison.

"You need to bring them down with a clawshot," Twilight explained, pulling out said weapon.

"Hookshot," Warrior corrected him, firing his hookshot at a shielding enemy. Unlike the arrows, the hookshot embedded itself in the shield and brought the monster crashing to the ground in front of Warrior. The captain wasted no time whipping out his sword to hack and slash at the creature.

"Clawshot or hookshot," Twilight amended, following Warrior's lead with his own weapon.

Armed with this information, everyone began to pull out of one the indicated weapons. Blue, however, had no such item.

"Vio!" Sky's call turned his head just in time to catch the clawshot the Skyloftian had tossed his way.

He nodded his head in thanks, not bothering to correct his fellow hero.

With that, the air filled with battle-cries, ringing metal, and screeching hisses from Aeralfos. Blue opted to use his sword at first, simply because the clawshot required a learning curve that he didn't have time for with all the attacks coming his way.

When there was finally a small lull in the battle, he sheathed his sword and fumbled with the unfamiliar weapon. It swallowed up his hand and entire forearm, but he could reach the trigger inside so he didn't think much of it. Only when he aimed and shot the claw at an air-born lizard monster did he realize why he'd never come across such a weapon.

He was simply too light for it.

Instead of pulling the Aeralfos down to _him_, the clawshot pulled him up to the Aeralfos.

Blue tightened his already tight grip on the clawshot as he was swept off his feet and into the air. The journey was all too short and ended with the monster's round shield slamming him to a stop.

The Aeralfos screeched in his face, none too happy about him clinging to its shield, and attempted to shake him off. The motions were jarring but Blue's death grip on his borrowed clawshot ensured he wasn't going anywhere. Unless he wanted to, of course. Which he did because being ten feet in the air was dangerous by itself and that wasn't even accounting for any flying lizard monsters that had the ability to breathe fire if they so chose.

Thanking his lucky stars that it hadn't occurred to the creature to burn him to a crisp just yet, Blue ensured he had a solid hold on the top of the shield before freeing the clawshot from the mesh of metal and scrambling up and onto the rim of the shield. He balanced there for maybe half a second before jumping onto the monster's shoulders, unsheathing his sword, and stabbing downward.

A piercing screech of pain that made him wince erupted from the monster beneath him, but it didn't go down. Only when he tugged his sword out of its head in preparation for another stab, thick black blood slogging down the blade, did he realize why. This monster was infected.

It was then that the Aeralfos decided to twist its head around and breathe fire. Blue backflipped instinctively, only remembering as he began to straighten out that he was still in the air.

Reaching out with the hand that still clutched Sky's clawshot, Blue fired at a preoccupied Aeralfos's shield and was yanked to safety. Well, relative safety. Hanging off a monster's shield wasn't really the safest, but it was definitely better than going splat on the ground.

Maneuvering around this enemy was slightly easier because he'd caught it by surprise, and it had been too occupied with targeting Wind to notice Blue until he sliced through its neck.

Blue only had time to note the spray of red blood before he found himself plummeting to the ground atop the Aeralfos he'd just ended.

Fortunately, the creature's corpse cushioned his fall fairly well so he only came out of it a tad bruised.

Wind gaped at Blue as he shot to his feet. "That was awesome!"

A small satisfied smirk tugged at his lips, but he forced it into a careful frown and moved to block a sword strike that was heading for Wind. "Talk later; fight now."

The young sailor shook himself out of his amazement and dropped back into his determined battle stance, helping Blue dispose of the immediate threat.

Fighting with Wind was refreshing. The two of them moved with fluidity that would make a river jealous, ducking and weaving and slashing at Aeralfos without so much as a word exchanged between them.

Whenever an Aeralfos took to the air, Wind would don his iron boots and hookshot and pull the monster down to their level. Then Blue would leapt into action, viciously swinging his sword and blocking counterstrikes as he waited for Wind to sneak up behind the monster and deal extra damage.

Blue managed to fell some Aeralfos on his own, but for the most part he and Wind did it together. It seemed that they had stumbled upon a mix of infected and non-infected monsters.

Though tough, they were no match for nine seasoned heroes and before Blue knew it, the battle was over and potions were being passed around. Other than a wicked slice to Sky's arm, none of them had been injured too badly and even then, it was nothing a potion and a couple bandages couldn't fix.

Blue himself only suffered a few bruises, which faded with the help of a red potion.

"Did you see Vio fighting them in the _air_?!" Wind exclaimed to Sky, shaking Blue by his shoulders.

"Green," Blue corrected him, pitching his voice perfectly to match Green's with hardly a thought. Imitating Vio was doable, but not for long.

"Green, sorry. It was crazy cool!" Wind cried, jumping up and down in excitement.

"It was crazy," Time agreed. "I honestly expected something like that from Wild, not you."

"It was an accident," Blue informed them. A thrilling, effective accident, but an accident nonetheless.

"You probably shouldn't be using clawshots," Sky rubbed his neck sheepishly as Blue returned his weapon.

Blue twisted his mouth into a wry grin. "Probably not." Not when he was sharing his body with other people at least. He didn't know if it was the adrenaline still coursing through his veins or not, but it had been _kind of_ fun. If he hadn't been concerned about hurting the body, then he may have kept flying from Aeralfos to Aeralfos.

"The important thing is we're all okay," Twilight interjected, accepting the clawshot he had lended to 'Rule and storing it away.

"And we got the blood," Legend added, holding up a bottle which he'd just finished scooping some black monster blood into.

"We are never using that bottle again," Warrior declared, staring at the goop inside with disgust.

Legend rolled his eyes. "Obviously not. It's staying with the witch, and she can burn it when she's done with it for all I care." The pink-haired hero got to his feet. "Speaking of, we have a witch to get to. Let's go."

"You're in a rush," Warrior observed as they began to move again, leaving the battlefield and all its carnage behind. "Hoping your girlfriend's there?"

"For the last time, she's not my girlfriend!" Legend griped, glaring at the scarf-wearing soldier. "She is a friend that is a girl."

"So girlfriend," Wind decided with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"No!"

Blue would have loved to tease Legend about it too but bit his tongue. Green would never do something like that. He would, however, laugh along, so that's exactly what Blue did.

For what it was worth, the witch girl hadn't been bad looking. She'd even had blue hair which was pretty cool and matched Blue's own signature color and namesake. Mistaking her for Legend's girlfriend really wasn't as much of an insult as Legend was making it out to be. Not in Blue's opinion, anyway.

Nonetheless, Legend refused to tell them her name, which led to some, frankly, hilarious guesses. Only when 'Rule proposed the name Blueberry on account of the girl's hair did the conversation turn into a debate over whether blueberries were actually blue or not, courtesy of Wild who insisted that when mashed they were a reddish-purple and when peeled they were green.

Vio probably knew that, but Blue didn't, and he couldn't help but think the fruit reflected their situation. One body but many minds. Like a blueberry, they were made of many colors and none of them could claim to be the original. Green was the most obvious outwardly, but Blue, Red, and Vio were no less present. One just had to look a little deeper than the surface

Ugh, Vio had to be close even though Blue couldn't hear him because now he was spacing out, thinking about blueberries of all things!

They were almost to the witch's hut when the world stuttered and swirled in on itself. Dizziness struck Blue and brought him to his knees. Groans from the others around him entered his ears. They were switching worlds again.

"Are you seri-?!" The exasperated half sentence from Legend was the last thing Blue was aware of before everything snapped to black.

* * *

Pain. It was the first thing that registered in Green's mind, and his heart rate picked up as he failed to recall any reason why his head felt like a giant had palmed it and squeezed.

Vio's first thought was that it was a particularly aggressive switching headache. They'd gotten them plenty of times before, after all, and he did just switch out so it was a likely explanation.

Green was inclined to think so too but couldn't stop his worry. Was it really just because of switching or did they have a concussion again? Did the body get injured somehow?

There was only one way to know for sure. Move.

Gingerly, Green attempted to curl his fingers into fists. He only managed it on his left hand.

Vio managed it on his right.

"_I believe we are both in control at the moment,"_ Vio observed.

"_Yeah, I think so too,"_ Green returned. _"What is_ happening?"

"_I'm not entirely sure…"_

"_Are we hurt?"_

"_No idea. I can't open my eyes."_

"_Maybe I can…?" _Green slowly peeled open his eyes and lifted his head off of his folded arms.

Green grass. A river. Nothing remotely familiar.

Were they still in Legend's Hyrule? Neither of them knew.

"Four." The nickname they'd adopted drew their eyes to Time who was standing a few feet away. The others were on their feet too, assessing the area, making Vio suspect they had changed eras since he had last fronted. "Are you alright?"

Habit had their head halfway through a nod before Vio corrected it with a jerk that made their migraine flare and eyes go dizzy.

Green squeezed their eyes shut and rested his pounding head back on his forearms. _Settle, please. Settle_.

This wasn't anything new. They'd gone through this a bunch of times and each time everyone just assumed time travel made them sick. Well, it made everyone sick, but it hit him especially hard. Four minds had to catch up with the body, not just one.

More often than not, two of them got stuck in control at the same time, just like Green and Vio were now. It should have become less scary, but it never did.

Their thoughts and emotions were jumbled together so they could hear and feel what the other was thinking and feeling, and though Green could hear Vio's rational mind insisting that one of them would front fully in a few minutes like always, he could feel Vio's own fear. Fear that they wouldn't. That they'd be stuck like this for an hour or more. Because after all, hadn't they only snapped out of their previous mix-up by being knocked over the head?

Of course, the others hadn't known then so they'd had to keep it a secret which probably didn't help matters. Now, everyone knew, but that was terrifying in its own right because he could feel the eyes on him, crawling all over his skin and sticking there like glue, and he didn't want them to see _this_.

But Vio didn't seem to care as much as Green did because he was lifting their head and Green couldn't help cracking open his eyes when Vio started to shift the right side of the body so they could sit up. Green followed along, thinking it ironic because he was supposed to be the leader.

The thought invigorated him. He was the leader. He could deal with this because he'd done it plenty of times before and out of them all, Vio was the easiest to be trapped in co-control with.

"_Don't move the eyes,"_ Green ordered Vio.

"_I won't."_

"Did you guys get mixed up again?" Twilight asked.

Green didn't want to nod, partly because of the headache and partly because he feared the world would tilt and swirl again. Thankfully, Vio had it covered, raising his right hand and signing yes.

The real answer was more complicated than that, but Vio didn't have both of his hands to sign and talking whenever they were like this was next to impossible.

"Can we do anything to help?" Time questioned. He was kneeling down somewhere to their right, but Green didn't dare take his eyes off of the nothing on the ground.

"Water," Green signed. It usually helped ground him in these types of situations so hopefully the water would shock him into full control.

'Rule was quick to offer a waterskin, and Green and Vio accepted it with minimal difficulty. The cool liquid alerted them to the fact that the body was parched, but they didn't dare drink so much at once so they forced themselves to take a break after a couple swigs.

No one moved to take the water from him, perhaps sensing that he wasn't done with it yet.

Green could feel Vio's thoughts drifting farther away, out of his reach like they should be. Encouraged by this, he took another sip.

"Not to interrupt but we're in my Hyrule," Wild interjected meekly. "Just…thought you guys might want to know."

They did. It helped to be less confused, though the two of them still had a plethora of questions. Unfortunately, those would have to wait until they settled.

"We should get Four somewhere they can rest. Is there a stable nearby?" Time questioned Wild.

Green nearly choked on the water, tugging the waterskin away from his mouth and nearly dropping it as he freed his left hand to sign "no" over and over. Now that he was thinking a bit clearer, he realized having the other heroes in the know was incredibly beneficial. Any other time, he had to scramble for his waterskin himself (which wasn't the easiest thing to do when one didn't have complete control over his body). He had to move when he wasn't ready to. Moreover, he had to act like he was fine when he wasn't.

If they took him to a stable, he'd have to pretend all over again, and putting on a show of normalcy for strangers was something he'd rather not have to find the strength for right now.

Thankfully, Twilight noticed and was quick to reassure him. "No? Okay, okay, we won't. We'll stay right here."

Silence reigned, then, and Green fell into a sleepy pattern of drink, blink, drink, stare, drink, don't forget to blink, drink some more, until a voice broke his concentration.

"Is it getting any better?" 'Rule's voice was soft, for which Green was grateful. His head still throbbed.

"_I can't hear your thoughts anymore," _Vio reported.

"_I can't hear yours either", _Green returned but received no indication his other half had heard.

"Yes," Green whispered, testing out his tongue. It seemed to work fine, but there wasn't much to trip over in that one word.

"Is it like what happened last time?" Wind wondered, curious.

"No, it's tovus." Green furrowed his brow at the slur and tried to correct it twice without success before tossing all words aside and holding up two fingers, then patting the respective colors on his tunic.

"Green and Vio?" Time checked.

Green signed the affirmative before taking another drink of water. At this rate, he was going to drain the entire waterskin. It was helping, though.

"Will it help any if you look at my Sheikah Slate?" Wild wondered, edging a little closer.

"_Yes!"_ Vio eagerly lied. Well, Green didn't have any proof it was a lie, but he was almost completely in control now so he didn't think Vio would front like before, but it didn't hurt to try.

At his go ahead, Wild sat down beside them, and Green allowed himself to take his eyes off the ground and redirect his attention to Wild's mysterious slate. The long-haired hero let him grasp one side of it as he scrolled through it and though Vio was plenty entertained in his head, commenting on this and that, there was no change.

Or rather, there was no immediate change. Vio was sliding back, but it was sluggish, like someone was peeling off a stuck bandage with excruciating slowness except the bandage was his head. He couldn't pay much attention to Wild's quiet explanations or sliding between inventories and maps. Everything was foggy and far away, like he was in a dream. Just when he became convinced Vio was switching with him after all, the world popped back into clarity, and Green released a breath he hadn't been conscious of holding.

He shoved the slate back towards Wild as gently as he could while still being firm. The not-quite light it was emitting was hurting his eyes. He rubbed them as if that would help relieve some of the tension from his head. "That was miserable."

"Did it work?" Wild wondered.

"Not you-" Green cut himself off and tried again, taking his time on each word. "Not the way you thought it would, I think. I'm Green."

"Just Green?" Legend cocked an eyebrow.

"Just Green," Green confirmed with a weary smile.

"Is this something we should be concerned about?" Twilight wanted to know.

Honestly, Green would like to know that himself. As far as he could tell, however… "No. It happens. We always get out of it eventually. I'm fine. Vio's fine. Thanks for helping us."

"What exactly happened?" Warrior wondered.

"Me and Vio-"

"Vio and I," Vio corrected him.

"Vio and _I_," Green corrected himself begrudgingly, "got stuck controlling the body together. We were both fully aware, seeing, hearing, everything. But I could control the left side, and he could control the right and our thoughts were mashed together. It was really weird and uncomfortable, and I'd rather not talk about it."

Respecting his wishes, the group changed topics.

"It figures we'd change worlds right before we can reach the witch," Legend grumbled, a scowl painting his features.

"You don't happen to know any witches, do you, Wild?" Warrior asked with mild interest.

Wild frowned in thought. "No…but I do know a guy that's obsessed with monsters."

"Could he do what Legend's witch was going to?" Sky wondered.

"I don't know. We could try to track him down and ask," Wild returned, beginning to fiddle with the Sheikah Slate.

"Wait, so we did get the blood?" Green interjected, desperately trying to make sense of this new conversation. Vio was quiet but Green could still feel him nearby, so he was probably doing the same.

"Dude, you were there when we got it," Legend said.

That answer didn't help Green's confusion one bit, and he made sure Legend knew it by shooting him a puzzled look. "No, I wasn't."

"You were!" Wind insisted. "You fought the Aeralfos while they were still in the air! Don't you remember?" The boy's tone suggested that Green should, but he didn't.

"I don't have any recollection of that whatsoever."

"Truly? You don't remember borrowing my clawshot?" Sky pressed.

He shook his head. "The last thing I remember is…Vio was out, and Wild was showing him the Sheikah Slate. Then there were some Chuchus, I think."

"_There was a battle shortly after that but I lost control just as it started," _Vio said.

"So whoever you were talking to during that time up until now, was not me," Green concluded.

"Who was it?" Twilight asked.

Green shrugged. "Definitely not me.

"_Or me,"_ Vio added.

"Or Vio. Red?"

"_Unlikely."_

"Yeah, probably not. Um, maybe Blue?"

"_Because it was a fight, I'm going to say definitely."_

"Okay, Vio thinks it was definitely Blue, and I'm going to second that," Green stated. He knew for a fact it hadn't been him or Vio, and Red had adjusted to being himself around the others by now. Blue was the only option left.

"Why would he pretend to be you?" 'Rule wondered. "Doesn't he know that he doesn't have to do that anymore?"

"Yes, but maybe he just…forgot," Green returned. He knew it had been a bit of an adjustment for him, and it was an even bigger adjustment for the other three, who had had their personalities trampled into obscurity the most.

"_Or he's still mad that we told our secret, and he's rebelling in his own childish way,"_ Vio proposed. _"Think about it. If he forgot he wouldn't call himself Green. He'd call himself Four."_

Green hated that Vio had a point. Still, he attempted to cling to the hope that it was an innocent mistake that didn't mean anything.

"We have been keeping this secret for a long time, even before we met up with you guys," Green continued, not knowing if he was trying to convince everyone else or himself. "It was probably just a habit."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was not just a habit.

That became clear over the next week. No reminders by Green, Red, or Vio made a difference. Blue insisted on keeping up the façade, and if not content, the three were willing to tolerate Blue being Blue, figuring he would come around eventually.

There was only so much they were willing to tolerate, however, and when Blue's mood started visibly affecting everyone else, it became a more glaring issue.

Vio chucked his writing utensil in the dirt and fisted his hands in his hair, letting out a muffled scream of aggravation. "Ugh! Why is this so complicated?! I nearly had it yesterday!"

"It's okay," Sky said, hands held out in an attempt to calm him. "I don't expect you to grasp it after one lesson."

"But I do! It's not even difficult!" Actually, it was incredibly difficult. It just didn't feel right that it was so difficult for Vio to understand. He'd gotten Time's down in a day and a half. Sky's should have been the same.

"Our written languages are really different so-"

"And why do they all have to be so drastically different, Sky?" Vio demanded, knowing it was rude to cut off the Chosen Hero like that but suddenly not caring. "It's like the goddesses want me to go insane!"

"No one wants you to go insane," Sky assured him, his voice gentle. "Why don't we take a break?"

"I don't need a break." Vio scowled, snatching up his discarded pencil. Even as the words passed his lips, he knew they weren't true. His perfectionism was striking, but it was more than that. He was furious. Rage was bubbling up in his chest, and he had the urge to hurl the pencil across camp. As if that would solve anything. Which it wouldn't because the pencil had nothing to do with anything.

It wasn't writing the symbols for him. He did that on his own. So why was he angry? Because he couldn't grasp a new concept? Even he knew that learning took time. It was, frankly, ridiculous to expect complete mastery over a new written language in a day, and while that fact was mildly frustrating, it wasn't something he'd typically get worked up over, which could only mean one thing.

This wasn't his anger.

"I need a break," he mumbled.

"I think that's a good idea," Sky said as if Vio taking a break from his most recent written Hylian lesson wasn't his idea to begin with.

Vio headed for his bedroll, doing his best not to stomp. Once there, he plopped down, tore the journal Warrior had given them out of his bag and ripped it open. Then he began to write furiously, in his own Hylian this time. "Blue, what's your deal?"

"_I don't have a deal."_

"You do! Otherwise I wouldn't be so mad right now." Vio didn't get mad. Or rather, when he did, he didn't have sudden, violent urges or raise his voice. Above all, he _never_ took his anger out on innocent bystanders. The fact that he'd just yelled at poor, innocent Sky for no reason indicated that Blue's mood was influencing his own.

"_Why do you blame me for everything, huh?!"_ Blue shouted. _"Did it ever occur to that big head of yours that you're mad because _you're_ mad? Why does it always have to be my fault?"_

"_No one's saying it's your fault, Blue," _Red piped up, attempting to keep the peace. Unfortunately, peace had abandoned them long ago.

This was war.

"No that is what I'm saying," Vio wrote, not even bothering with proper punctuation anymore. Yet another indication of how he was letting these intense emotions _that were not his_ control him. "you've been moody ever since we told and I'm sick of it"

"_Oh yeah? Well, I'm sick of being stuck with all of you!"_ Blue shot back.

Tears sprung to his eyes, blurring his vision. He rubbed them away immediately. _"You don't mean that."_ Red whimpered.

"_I do! None of you ever listen to me. You think you can make decisions without consulting me first and that's fine because Blue doesn't matter, right?"_

"_What? No! We never made any decision without you," _Green objected.

"You are included in every single conversation we have. In fact we can't not listen to you because youre always so loud." The last sentence was unnecessary and would likely only enrage Blue further, but Vio found that he had no filter at the moment, so he didn't stop his hand from writing it.

"_Obviously I'm not loud enough because you idiots told!" _The volume made Vio's head pound harder, and it took all his willpower to not write 'shut up'. Blue evidently needed to talk about what was bothering him if Vio was ever going to get any peace.

"_We voted on it,"_ Red reminded him, his voice small. _"Three against-" _

"_It's always you three against me!"_ Blue roared. Vio's temples pulsed with a heartbeat of their own, and he squeezed the pencil so tight it was a wonder it didn't snap. _"What I think and feel never matters! As long as you three get your way everything's fine and dandy, isn't it?"_

"_That's not true,"_ Green said. _"We-" _

"_It is true!" _Blue insisted, plowing straight through Green's attempt at placating him and grounding it into the dust._ "Because if it wasn't none of them would know the rest of us exist right now!"_

"_Is that what you're so upset about? That the others know?"_

"_It's not just that they know, it's that as soon as _one_ little thing went wrong, you guys panicked and spilled our secret. News flash, you can't make decisions like that if not all of us agree!"_

"_Wha-!? Wait! That's not-" _Green heaved an exasperated sigh._ "Okay, Blue, fine. I'm sorry; you're right. We shouldn't have made such a big decision without everyone's okay, but there's not much I can do about that now. And in any case, do you not remember how mixed up we were? You can't blame us."_

"blind and deaf" Vio wrote to jog Blue's memory.

"_I _do_ blame you! We got through it just fine without the others so obviously we don't need them involved," _Blue retorted, ignoring Vio completely.

"_We only got through it because we got knocked out by a monster!" _Green exclaimed.

"_The point is we got through it,"_ Blue argued. _"And if those monsters hadn't come along we would have gotten through it a lot smoother. We could function. Yeah, it was weird, but we made it work."_

"_Weird?! It was dangerous! It was terrifying, and I don't want a repeat," _Green shot back.

Vio agreed.

"_I'm not saying I want a repeat of it. I'm just saying we were fine. There was no reason tell the others anything."_

"there was" Vio wrote, but he didn't think anyone bothered to read it.

"_We were not fine!"_ Green yelled back, his temper rising to match Blue's. _"Exactly what part of being everyone and no one at once is fine to you?!"_

"_You act like we were dying, and we weren't!" _Blue shot back hotly._ "This is what I mean. You're so dramatic, and if you take a second to _think_, you'll realize it isn't a big deal. It's not like it keeps happening."_

"_Vio and I got scrambled together last time we switched eras," _Green retorted.

"_So what? That's happened before. We know how to deal with it."_

"_But it was easier to deal with when the others knew. They could help us and they did."_

"_You can't count on them always doing that. Who's to say they won't take advantage of us? Pick and choose who can be out when?"_

"_They won't do that," _Green refuted._ "They're all us in a way."_

"_Exactly why I'm worried! One of us has a track record of betrayal."_

Blue's latest words were a blatant jab at Vio, and even though he knew taking the bait was a bad idea, he bit anyway. "I never betrayed anyone"

"_You betrayed Shadow."_

And there it was. The truth that Vio wished was a lie. He'd buried it and tried his best to forget it because acknowledging it reminded him that he was more of a monster than Shadow ever was. Shadow was never a monster. Just misunderstood. And Vio had taken advantage of that, twisted it until it suited him and then…

The page in front of him blurred again, and this time it wasn't because of Red.

"_Blue!" _Green snapped.

"_What? It's true. Not my fault if it hurts."_

"_You know Shadow is a sensitive topic for Vio. You can't just throw it around no matter how bitter you are. Apologize."_

Silence.

"_Bluuuue!" _Red wailed._ "Stop being mean! Say you're sorry."_

"_I'm not sorry."_

Vio dashed the back of his hand across his eyes and began to write. The pressure he used almost broke through to the other side of the paper but he didn't care. "I wish you'd died instead of Shadow"

Green gasped. _"Vio!"_

"_You don't mean that!" _Red cried.

Vio snapped the journal closed and tossed the writing utensil away. End of discussion. Except it wasn't. Because the voices in his head were still screaming.

His hands found the sides of his head, cuffed his ears to block out the noise. It didn't work. He couldn't silence something that wasn't real.

Walking away was the smart thing to do in these types of situations. Vio was halfway to standing before he realized it wouldn't work either. No matter how far he walked or ran, he would never escape. He'd never be completely alone in his own head.

He was trapped.

So he sat back down and curled up with his head in his hands and willed it all to stop stop stop stop stop stop stopstopstopstopstopSTOP!

Nausea swirling in his stomach made Green aware that he was in control again. His head was pounding and unsettlingly silent. It wouldn't last long.

"Dinner!" Wild's announcement jerked his head up, and he rested his cheek on his folded arms so the world could right itself. Food was the furthest thing from his mind.

Nonetheless he unfolded his limbs from the scrunched up position Vio had manipulated them into and trudged over to join everyone else around the fire. He accepted the bowl Wild handed him and settled down near Sky like nothing was wrong.

He peered into the stew in his lap, feeling more and more nauseated by the second. That was about when he came to the conclusion that such facades were stupid. He didn't have to handle everything alone now. Moreover, he _couldn't_ handle this alone.

"Hey, will you guys help me with something?" Green asked, setting aside his dinner and glancing around the camp.

"Sure, what do you need?" Warrior answered for all of them.

Green could feel the backlash for what he was about to do, and he hadn't even said anything yet. "It's about Blue."

"Is he alright?" Time asked, sounding genuinely concerned because he was. Blue had such a thick skull sometimes that he couldn't see such things.

"Not really. He's mad, and that's why Vio yelled at you earlier," Green said, nodding at Sky.

Confusion creased the Skyloftian's brow. "You're not…?"

He offered a wan smile. "Green."

"Ah." Sky didn't say it. None of them ever did, but they didn't have to. Green saw the doubt that flickered in their eyes every time he announced himself. It was fair enough, he supposed. They had no way of differentiating him from Blue when Blue insisted on pretending to be him. That didn't stop it from being infuriating, though.

"So Blue was pretending to be Vio?" Wind wondered, snapping Green out of his reverie.

"No, it was Vio, but Blue was really mad, so Vio was feeling his anger."

"That_ happens_?" Legend asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yeah but not all the time. Just with extreme emotions." They were getting off topic, and Green needed to finish this discussion before the others found their way to the front again. "Point is, Vio confronted Blue about it, and it spiraled into this whole argument and lots of screaming so nothing actually got resolved.

"Honestly, nothing's going to get resolved because two of us are always going to be incredibly upset and not thinking clearly so we're never actually going to have a civilized conversation. It's always going to be an argument. That's why I need you guys to help me talk to Blue. Or, really, talk to him for me and try to sort this out because I…can't." Admitting it hurt. Green prided himself on being the leader. On knowing what to do. On solving disputes among them, but that was considerably harder to do when they were all smushed together in one body.

"Of course we'll help!"

"Sure."

"Yeah."

"Leave it to us."

"I want to help too, but how will we know it's Blue?" And there was Twilight with the question Green was dreading to answer. Not because he didn't have an answer, but because the answer was a betrayal of sorts in itself. Blue was hiding himself, hiding behind the mask of Green, and Green was about to strip it away.

"We'll use a code," Green decided.

"Can't the others hear us right now?" 'Rule worried, tugging on his ear nervously.

"No, they're not around yet. We just switched." Which is why they had to make this fast.

Warrior seemed to pick up on that fact. "Okay, do you have something in mind?"

Green nodded. "Whoever asks, 'what's the code?', it's their nickname, then 'times four'. So Warrior, if you asked me what the code is, I'd have to say 'Warrior times four'. As long as I say that, you'll know you're talking to me. If the response you get is anything else or nothing at all, it's Blue."

"Or Red or Vio," Legend pointed out.

"Well, no, you'd ask who's out first," Green refuted. "If the response is Green then double check it's really me with the code. If not then, don't ask for a code. There isn't one. Those two won't lie, and Blue won't hide behind anyone else."

"Got it. Sounds simple enough," Legend said, stretching before turning back to his meal.

"Why is he mad? Do you know?" Twilight asked.

Green shrugged. "He doesn't like that we told you guys our secret."

"Is this really a good idea then?" Wild wondered, pulling Green's attention his way. "Won't it make him angrier if you get us involved?"

Green knew it was a possibility, and he'd be surprised if it didn't happen. Still, he had no other way of solving this issue. "Probably, but it's either that or let him stay angry forever." And make everyone else miserable in return.

"Maybe he needs more time?" Wild suggested.

"He's had three weeks to brood. It needs to end," Green declared. It sounded harsh even to his ears, but if any of them were going to find happiness in their situation, Blue's attitude needed to be addressed. "You can tell him it was my idea because it was."

Wild still looked uncomfortable, but Green didn't press. He just needed one of them to talk to Blue. It didn't have to be Wild.

Dinner turned to lighter-hearted conversation and banter as Green picked up his still-full bowl. It didn't look any more appetizing than earlier, but he forced himself to eat some anyway. The last thing they needed was to be low on energy during an ambush.

The others returned while he was eating, sidling in like they were treading on thin ice. None of them spoke, which was rare but not entirely unwelcome. Green could feel them anyway. The frustration. The helplessness. The _fury_. He couldn't force down much more after that, no matter how good a cook Wild was.

Watch was out of the question tonight, so Green didn't bother volunteering. He simply tucked the journal back into his bag and laid down while the others set up a watch schedule and settled into their own makeshift beds for the night.

Green's sleep was dreamless, but that didn't stop him from waking up in the middle of the night, shaking like a leaf. The night was chilly, but not enough to make him shiver. Not with the extra blankets he had tucked around himself in forethought.

Panic fluttered in his chest like a bird that had jumped off a ledge and forgotten how to fly. His first thought was that something was wrong. Monsters stalking at the edge of camp, waiting to pounce. However, upon shifting for a better look, he could see nothing of the sort. Crickets chirped and a crescent moon high above carved the shapes of his companions in the darkness. Most were laying down. One was sitting up, vigilant but nonplussed.

The camp was safe. Yet insurmountable fear made his heart pound and body tremble. Someone had had a nightmare, and Green had a pretty good idea who.

"Vio?" His whisper was barely audible to his own ears but he didn't dare speak louder. The journal was out of the question. He didn't know where a writing utensil was, and it was too dark to read anyway. "You okay?"

Green was left alone so long with his pounding heart that he began to wonder if he'd guessed wrong, but then, finally, Vio responded. _"No."_

"Want to talk about it?"

"_No."_

"Okay." But it wasn't okay. Vio's fear prevented Green from drifting back to sleep, and Green couldn't even offer him a hug because Vio wasn't physically there _to_ hug. The best he could do was burrow further under the blankets, wrap his arms tightly around himself, and hope that Vio could feel it too.

* * *

The next morning the group pushed on to Kakariko Village where they hoped to find the monster merchant Wild claimed existed. At this point, Green suspected the man was like the Minish, showing himself to a select group of people only when it suited him.

So far they'd struck out at Rito Village and Gerudo Town, the latter of which was miserable because it required them to camp out in the cold desert. Even when it became plain this mysterious merchant wasn't going to show, they couldn't even take shelter at an inn on account of the Gerudo's rigid ban on males.

Kakariko was much more welcoming and far less frigid at night, so Green found that he didn't mind all that much when this location failed to deliver as well.

"Are you sure this guy exists?" Legend asked, shoving all his skepticism at Wild as they made their way to the inn.

"Of course he exists!" Wild exclaimed defensively.

"Then why haven't we found him yet?"

"And why does no one else seem to know of him?" Warrior added. It was fair enough. No one they asked knew anything for sure. The best clues they had to his whereabouts were Wild's insistence and stories village children told in whispers about weird lights, balloons, and monster men. How accurate they were, however, was up for debate.

"He's…elusive." Wild mumbled dropping his eyes to his slate and tapping on the screen. "And he likes to move around a lot, but I swear to you, he does come to Kakariko and all the other places we've checked too."

"Then why don't we just stay in one place and wait?" Twilight wondered.

"Because that's boring," Wild replied like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Twilight stopped dead in his tracks and shot him a less than impressed look. "Are you serious?"

Somewhere in Green's head, Blue swore.

Wild stopped as well, taken aback by Twilight's tone. "Yeah, I don't like staying in one place all the time."

"We could've found this guy ages ago, moron!" Legend exclaimed, lunging forward and grabbing Wild by his collar.

"It's fine. We're not in a hurry anyway, and we can just stay in Kakariko now, right?" Sky interjected, hands held up in a placating gesture that didn't seem to be working on Legend at all.

"Legend, let him go." Time sighed. "Sky's right. We'll stay here until Wild's friend makes his way to Kakariko. No harm done."

"No harm done?!" Legend cried, releasing Wild and rounding on Time. "Old man, do you not understand that we could have had answers by now? Wild just wasted our time!"

"We're not going to get it back by yelling at him, are we?" Time countered, the epitome of calm.

Legend just huffed and stalked off ahead. Green rolled his eyes. Legend was so like Blue. If only Blue stopped throwing a tantrum long enough, he'd see that. Green was certain the two of them would be good friends. If nothing else they could burn off some of their pent up energy by sparring together.

Not now, of course. Green could feel the weariness pulling down his limbs, and judging by the way many of the others were slouching and dragging their feet as they walked, he wasn't the only one.

Upon arriving at the inn, they were greeted with the usual mix of excited and overwhelmed from the innkeeper. Wild mumbled some half-hearted explanation for the size of their group and the similarity of their faces as he paid for their rooms, but Green wasn't really listening. His thoughts were already on the soft bed that awaited him as he trudged up the steps after Wind and 'Rule.

"_Don't go straight to sleep. Remember we still need to debrief tonight,"_ Vio reminded him as he entered the room he would be sharing with Sky and Wind.

"_Use the journal so you don't disturb the others," _Red suggested.

"_So they don't think _you're_ disturbed is more like it,"_ Blue muttered cynically.

"_No one thinks that,"_ Red objected.

"_And how do you know?"_

"'_Cause no one says it."_

"_Doesn't mean they aren't thinking it!"_

Green rolled his eyes as Red devolved into wailing about how that wasn't true while Blue fired back all the faulty reasons why it was and Vio told them both to quiet down and focus.

He was too tired for this tonight. Maybe he'd just write his knowledge of today's events down and let the others read it later. It wouldn't fill in all the gaps but they could work it out in the morning if anyone really cared.

Decision made, Green plopped down on the bed, only to find nothing there. The fall was short, and in a blink of black, Vio found himself on grassy ground, tailbone and elbow smarting.

"-_got_ to be joking!" Legend's cry of indignation rang out above the sounds of chirping crickets. "We just paid for rooms!"

"My soft bed…" Wind lamented from where he was sprawled out on his stomach a few feet away.

"You didn't pay for anything," Warrior scoffed, fixing his already perfect hair.

"Well, I was _going _to pay Wild back for my part."

"You don't have to-"

"No duh! Of course I'm not paying you back. We didn't even get to use the rooms!" Legend griped, throwing his hands in the air. "And speaking of, why aren't you more upset about losing money?"

"I can earn more," Wild shrugged, already in the process of laying out his bedroll on the grassy ground. "Besides, I like camping."

"You-!"

"We're not setting up camp until we know where we are," Time interjected, eyeing Wild and his bedroll disapprovingly.

The reminder that they were in unknown territory, yet again, encouraged everyone to stop moaning and groaning and take a look around. It was dark, but from the meager illumination of the moon and stars, Vio could see that they were in a field of some sort. Mountains rose tall and foreboding in the distance to the right. Trees were at his back a fair distance away. The foliage was thick, perfect for hiding monsters.

None of it looked remotely familiar to his Hyrule, however.

Fortunately, one of them did recognize it. "We're in my Hyrule," Time announced, sounding a bit embarrassed that he hadn't realize it right away.

"Does that mean we get to stay at the ranch?" Wind asked, eyes lighting up at the prospect. Vio didn't blame him. Time and Malon were wonderful hosts despite their home not being built for ten people. It was snug every time they visited, but it felt like home.

"Unfortunately not. The ranch is half a day's trek from here," Time replied.

Wind groaned and flopped back onto the ground.

"Don't worry, Wind. We'll be able to sleep in real beds tomorrow," Vio reassured the youngest of their party.

"Oh!" Twilight exclaimed. "I totally forgot! Are you okay?"

Suddenly, Vio had eight concerned gazes trained on him. He raised his hands and offered a smile. "Thanks for the concern, but I'm okay. Or rather, we're okay. We didn't get mixed up this time."

"No switch?" Sky wondered.

"Only one."

"Wait, don't tell me! I can guess…" Wind exclaimed, narrowing his eyes at Vio in intense concentration. Many of the others did likewise.

Thankfully, Legend broke the silence before it could stretch too long. "Oh please. You don't have to think about it that hard. It's obviously Vio. No one else is as cryptic as he is."

"That was gonna be my guess," Wind muttered, pouting.

"Your guess would have been correct," Vio informed him, an amused smile tugging at the corners of his mouth at Wind's theatrics. He really was a lot like Red. If Vio wasn't careful, he'd switch again.

"Yes!" Wind cheered, punching the air.

"Anyway, what's the plan? Is it safe to make camp here or should we walk a bit?" Sky asked, turning all eyes to their unofficial leader.

Time gave the area a cursory glance before saying, "We should be safe enough here. Of course, we'll need to post a watch just in case, and get a fire going."

"I'll get firewood," Twilight volunteered.

Vio got to his feet, only slightly shaky. "I'll help." He needed to do something to distract himself from the fact that he felt like he was floating above everything.

Besides, sitting still gave him time to think, and ever since Blue had brought up Shadow yesterday, Vio couldn't stop dwelling on his death. Would Shadow still be alive if Vio hadn't toyed with his emotions like a selfish jerk? Probably. But he and the others would likely be dead in his place. Was that better? One dead so four could live or four dead so one could live?

His own words plagued him too. It wasn't like he'd _meant _them. The previous evening's nightmare was proof enough of that. He loved Blue as much as he loved Red and Green, even if he got on his nerves more often than not. Still, he hadn't brought himself to apologize yet. Did that mean he wasn't sorry? Was he really what Blue accused him of being? A traitor?

Vio shook off the self-deprecating thoughts. No. He had to stop. This was exactly why he needed a distraction.

He let the Hero of Time's voice drag him back to the present. "—areful. Don't go into the woods proper."

"Got it. We'll stick to the outskirts," Twilight said, already turning in the direction of the woods. "Come on."

Vio fell into step beside Twilight, which was quite difficult to do when Twilight's gait was so much wider than his, but it gave him something to concentrate on so he didn't mind terribly.

When they reached the edge of the forest, they went straight to work collecting sticks, branches, and dry foliage for the fire. With Time's warning in mind, the two of them skirted around the tree line, eventually finding a wide path that wasn't quite part of the forest. It was strewn with a fair share of fallen twigs. Perfect for a campfire.

Vio knelt down, grabbing one and adding it to the growing pile in his arms. It was already quite precarious. He might have to ditch some or risk dropping a few branches on the way back.

"I think that should do it," Twilight declared, straightening after a few more minutes of collecting. "Let's head back."

Vio stood as well, shifting the burden in his arms to get a better grip. He'd only taken one step when a weight slammed into him from behind and sent him sprawling.

A yell from Twilight was the last thing Vio was aware of before Blue was flung into control.

Questions flooded his mind but the hot breath on the back of his neck coupled with the pinpricks of pain digging into his shoulders and the crushing weight pressing him into the ground told him now was _not_ the time.

Grabbing a nearby branch, Blue twisted around as far as he could—which wasn't very far at all—and swung with all his might. The weight let up and Blue shot to his feet, jerking his sword from its sheath and whirling around to face his attacker.

A monstrous black, grey, and white wolf with glowing green eyes greeted him with a head-pounding howl. Blue planted his feet and leveled his sword at the beast. It wouldn't get another lucky shot.

The monster began to circle him again and again making him even more disoriented than he already was. This wouldn't do.

Apparently, the wolf agreed because it chose that moment to lunge at him. Blue braced himself, ready to deliver a decisive sword strike to its muzzle when it bounded within range. That plan quickly disintegrated when he found the wolf towering over him on its hind legs, drawing back its arm in preparation to take a swipe at him.

Blue ducked and rolled out of the way just as the wicked claws came down.

Wrong move.

It spared him from the creature's attack, yes, but it also made him even dizzier. It was all Blue could do to stumble to his feet and turn in time to catch the wolf's next attack on his right forearm. He really should have had his shield equipped. Stupid!

The lacerations stung, and Blue could already feel blood dripping down his arm, but he didn't allow it to distract him. Gritting his teeth in frustration—and maybe a bit of pain—Blue hopped back out of range of the monster's next strike.

When it overbalanced itself, Blue saw his chance and took it, darting forward and driving his sword deep into the furry, yet oddly muscular, side of the wolf. It howled in pain and twisted itself off his blade, making the stab wound worse. Blue had no qualms about that. It was limping now as it circled him warily, red weeping down its left side and staining the fur there.

He wanted to finish this but could practically hear Green telling him to hold. To wait for an opening. As annoyed as he was at Green and the rest of them at the moment, he couldn't deny that doing anything else would be foolish. He was too disoriented to be completely on the offensive. So he equipped his shield and waited. He bided his time, as infuriating as it was, and when the wolf creature finally worked up the foolishness to attack again, he was ready.

Dodging came easily this time around, Blue's balance restored and feet steady beneath him. Another well-placed strike was all it took to take his enemy down for good.

Blue had just breathed out a sigh of relief when another howl pierced the air. He tensed, turning to see an identical creature to the one at his feet falling off Twilight's sword. Yet another wolf lay immobile a little farther down the path, closer to the trees. Twilight must have taken that one out too.

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked, sheathing his sword and stepping over the wolf's corpse.

Blue nodded, putting away his weapons as well and casually casting his gaze around to assess the area for any more potential threats. Also, to figure out where they were and what they were doing there. Last he recalled, they were heading to bed at an inn. Had they made it there? Was it still the same night? Or was it tomorrow already, and he just hadn't been near the front all day? It was impossible to tell, so Blue gave up on that for now and turned his attention to other matters. Namely, what the body had been doing before the attack.

It looked like they were in a forest, or near one at the very least. Seeing sticks and branches strewn across the ground wasn't so strange. It was how many there were that labeled them as a clue. Either there had been a storm recently or they had been collecting firewood prior to the ambush. Blue was willing to bet on the latter. Although-

A hand on his arm snapped him out of his thoughts, and he tensed, immediately leaping back, hand straying towards the safety only his sword could provide.

"Easy, Vio, easy," Twilight raised his hands. "It's just me. I'm sorry. Were you spacing out? I just wanted to take a look at your arm."

He blinked. His arm throbbed with a dull pain, reminding him of the injury there. Blue relaxed his posture, cleared his throat to get ready to impersonate and spoke. "Sorry. That's fine and…it's Green." He offered his injured arm to Twilight for inspection, plastering an apologetic smile on his face.

Twilight accepted it with a concerned frown. "When'd you switch? Just now?"

"When we got attacked, I think."

"So you're very confused, I take it?"

"Yes."

As Twilight tended to his injury, cleaning and wrapping it, he answered all of Blue's questions. Apparently, they had switched eras after getting their rooms at the inn—truly unfortunate timing if you asked Blue—and had landed in Time's Hyrule. The two of them were currently next to the Lost Woods and had indeed been collecting firewood before the wolfos showed up.

The creatures, while ferocious, had not been infected which Blue counted as a small blessing. His wound would likely be worse than it was had the wolfos been tainted. Fortunately for him, the injury could easily be healed with a nasty-tasting potion. Unfortunately, he'd have to wait until they returned to camp as, after a hasty rummaging session through both their bags, it was concluded that neither of them had any potions left.

"Can I ask you a question?" Twilight wondered as the two of them began to recollect the firewood.

"Sure," Blue agreed even though he really didn't feel like answering any questions about their condition. The others were too nosy. Green didn't think so, though. He welcomed all questions. "What is it?"

The silence stretched so long between them that Blue started to wonder if he had accidentally spaced out and missed Twilight's question. It wouldn't be the first time such a thing had occurred. However, when he directed an expectant look at Twilight, he found hesitance in the older hero's expression.

That same hesitance transferred to his voice when Twilight finally spoke. "What's…what's the code?"

Well, that wasn't what he'd been expecting at all. He let out a short, breathy laugh, sure Twilight was pulling his leg. "Code? What are you...?" He trailed off, suddenly unsure. Twilight's serious expression indicated it wasn't a joke, but maybe that was intentional? After all, if he made it plain he was joking the joke itself could be lost. He waited for Twilight to crack a smile and laugh, admitting that he was just messing with him.

But he didn't.

The two of them remained staring at each other, still as statues and just as breathless, for what Blue estimated to be somewhere between ten seconds and a lifetime.

Then Twilight shattered it. "…Blue?"

He was animated in an instant, straightening and dumping all the recollected firewood in his arms to the forest floor. He knew. Twilight _knew_ he wasn't Green. He set him up!

Blue couldn't help the rage and disgust that contorted his face. He knew this would happen! He _knew_. But did the others listen? No. Of course not. They never listened to him.

"Wait. I don't mean any harm-"

Blue scoffed at the blatant lie. "You don't mean any harm? Then why'd you set up a code to expose me, huh?"

"I _didn't_," Twilight stressed, taking a step closer when Blue stepped back. "Green did. He's worried about you because you're upset for some reason—"

"If he doesn't know why I'm upset then he's more of an idiot than I give him credit for." Blue scowled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"That came out wrong," Twilight claimed. "He does know, it's just… according to Green, every time you guys try to talk about what's upsetting you, it devolves into an argument and nothing gets solved. That's why he asked the rest of us to help."

"This stupid stunt is supposed to be _helping_?" Blue demanded incredulously. Green truly was a moron. Couldn't he see that dragging the others into their business was going to make everything worse? They didn't know anything about their situation. All the other heroes were was curious and curiosity killed.

Twilight grimaced, hunching his shoulders in guilt. "Yeah, well, it might not have been the best way, but you don't exactly make it easy for us to talk to you."

"Maybe that's because I don't want to talk to you! Ever think of that, genius?

The look on Twilight's face told Blue that he hadn't. "Did we do something?"

"No, but you're going to."

"So…you don't want to talk to us because of something we haven't done yet and may never do?" Twilight wondered, head tilted slightly and eyes squinted as if that would help him better unravel Blue's logic.

Blue threw his hands up in the air. "Well, when you put it like that it sounds stupid!"

"Sorry." Twilight shifted uneasily, readjusting his grip on the wood in his arms. "I just don't understand."

"Of course you don't," Blue huffed, crossing his arms back over his chest. "How could you? You don't have three other people living in your head and randomly taking control of your body. You don't know what it's like to be trapped in your own mind where no one can hear you. To be forced to watch as someone else says and does things that you'd never say or do. To have to resist screaming at the voices in your head when they get too loud because only crazy people talk to themselves. You don't know what any of that's like!"

Pity contorted Twilight's face, and Blue's blood boiled all the more. He barreled on, not giving the elder hero a chance to speak. What was the point? He already knew what he was going to say, and he didn't want to hear any of it. Blue bent down to re-recollect the branches and twigs he'd dropped earlier in anger. "Let's just go back to camp, and if you breathe a word of this to anyone else I'll tell them all your secret, _Wolfie. _Then you'll know how it feels."

"Is that what this is about? Your secret being out? You know none of us think any differently of you guys, right?" Blue scoffed at that, but Twilight elected to ignore it and continued, "We're not kicking you out of the group or anything."

"You should. In fact, I wish you would," Blue shot back. Leaving by himself would do no good because as soon as one of the others took control, they'd march right back to everyone else. Doing so would be considerably harder in they were banished.

"What? Why?"

Blue continued to add to the pile of wood in his arms, pretending to not have heard Twilight. He was done talking.

"Look, we all have our secrets. We're not going to penalize you guys for keeping yours this long, even if it was a little dangerous. We know now so we can help-"

The firewood in Blue's arms met the ground for the second time that night. "That's the problem! You and your 'helping'."

"You don't want us to help?"

"No! Don't do anything. Act like you don't know a thing and leave us alone!"

Twilight blinked dumbly. "Why?"

"Because you're going to hurt us."

"Blue, none of us would _ever_-"

"Maybe not intentionally." Blue interrupted. "But you will."

Twilight shook his head uncomprehending. "How?"

"You're all going to pick favorites." At Twilight's vehement head shake of denial, Blue rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me you don't already prefer one of us over the others. I know you do because _I_ do. It's human nature. And that same nature will eventually lead to all of you deciding who gets to be out when.

"Then maybe you'll get bored of that and 'help' us by figuring out a way for us to control our switches. But in reality it only breeds chaos because once we know how to gain control, none of us will ever want to be out of it. We'll all end up fighting over the body and tear each other apart in the process. Then who knows what'll happen to the body? Maybe it'll seize. Maybe it will become an empty shell, and we'll all be trapped in the headspace, fighting for eternity, or maybe we'll just die. I don't know. All I know is that nothing good will come out of it, and the others are too blinded by the freedom of being themselves to see that!"

Blue heaved for breath upon finishing his rant as Twilight stared at him, stunned. "I…Blue, that won't happen. I promise you. We're not going to force you guys to do anything you don't want to."

"Green and the rest revealed our secret when I didn't want to. Why should I believe you guys are any different?"

Twilight's piercing blue gaze held his, unfaltering. "Twilight times four."

Now it was Blue's turn to be confused. "What?"

"That's the code. The name changes depending on who asks you the question. If you want to stay hidden, you can. I wish you wouldn't, but if you feel safest that way then I'm not going to take that away from you. Just know that you guys are safe with us. We're not going to force anyone to switch and we won't help you figure out how to control your switches unless you _all _explicitly ask for it. If one of you says no, then we won't. Sound good?"

Yes. It actually _did_ sound good. Too good. And when something sounded too good to be true, it usually was. Blue pounced on the first flaw he saw. "One of the others could pretend to be me and give you fake consent. You wouldn't know the difference, and then we'd be back to square one."

"They shouldn't do that."

"But they _could_," Blue pointed out.

"Do you think they would?"

Blue shrugged. "They told our secret even though I voted against it."

"Right, but that didn't require impersonating you."

"They still ignored my opinion."

Twilight nodded at that. "Alright, well, when it comes to something like learning to control switches I take it you're always to going to say no, right?"

"Yes," Blue agreed.

"Okay, so if you ever say anything else I'll know it's not you. Fair enough?"

"Fair enough," Blue grumbled, tearing his gaze away from Twilight and the sincerity in his eyes because he couldn't be serious. …Could he? Was it really that easy?

As the two of them finished filling their arms with firewood, Blue began to believe that it was. After all, Twilight _did_ give him the code. No one else could use it to lay his lies bare. Unless they concocted a new code, of course.

Blue frowned deeply at the thought. It was disturbing but possible. Twilight could have only given him the code to gain his trust and be planning to form a new code with Green next time Blue wasn't around to hear it.

Warily, Blue glanced side-long at his current companion. Was Twilight capable of such a thing? He wasn't sure. All he had to go off of was Twilight's word, and how much that was worth remained to be seen.

Fortunately for Blue, he didn't have to wait long. When they returned to camp Twilight informed the rest of their run in with the wolfos and pointed to him, specifically saying that _Green_ had injured his arm—reminding Blue that the wound actually did hurt and was still bleeding slightly—and could anyone spare a potion because neither of them had any.

Everyone was quick to offer one, but Sky was the fastest in producing said potion. Mostly because everyone else discovered they were running low as well.

"Does this mean we're going on a supply run tomorrow?" Wind wondered, bouncing excitedly on his bedroll, equally intimidated and excited by the prospect of towns.

"Yes," Legend answered him. "I don't like not having medical supplies."

"We still have some," Hyrule pointed out, holding up a red potion he'd just salvaged from his bag.

"It's still best to restock while we have a few left," Warrior added. He turned to Time. "How far away is Castle Town?"

"A day."

"As in twenty-four hours?" Warrior asked.

"Well, technically you can make it there in eleven hours if you run the whole way but they close the gates at nightfall and don't let anyone in or out. So it rounds out to a day if you want to camp out in the field, which we don't."

"We're camping out in the field now," Legend said.

"That's because we have no choice. Or rather, because I don't think you boys will appreciate walking all night just to reach the ranch, but with the wolfos attack I'm starting to rethink..."

"No!" Wind wailed, burrowing into his bedroll. "I don't wanna walk anymore today."

"I just got the fire started." Wild pouted, tossing an errant branch into the blazing campfire he had completed while they were all talking.

"Besides that I don't think they're much of a threat," Twilight said. "The wolfos weren't infected, and I'm pretty sure they're native to the Lost Woods, which we're a good distance from. We were probably encroaching on their territory and that's why they attacked."

Time still looked uneasy, but he sighed, relenting. "Fine, but we're setting double watch shifts just in case. We'll head to the ranch tomorrow and rest there for the day before moving on to Castle Town."

Conversation then turned to reworking the watch schedule the others had fabricated while he and Twilight were off collecting wood for the fire. Wind smartly feigned sleep during the discussion but that didn't spare him from being assigned the early morning shift with Hyrule.

Blue was paired up with Sky to take the shift before Wind's and Hyrule's, for which he was grateful and Green—who had drifted towards the front halfway back to camp—was displeased because it was unlikely Blue would wake up in the body. Unless there was an attack, of course, but hopefully the wolfos were all the excitement that would find them that night.

Settling down on his bedroll near Wind with a heap of blankets to keep them both warm, Blue drifted off to sleep.

Green awoke, just as he'd predicted, to Wild shaking him, telling him that it was his turn. He groaned in annoyance as he waved the older teen away and sat up. Blue was such a jerk for not taking first watch.

The chill that crept in when the blankets fell off his shoulders was not welcome, but it did chase away some of the haziness of sleep.

"You might have to help Time wake up Sky," Wild informed him, jerking a thumb behind him to draw Green's attention to Time's unsuccessful endeavors to awaken the notoriously sleepy hero without also waking up the Links around him.

Green let out a quiet laugh at the display. "Putting Sky on any shift other than the first is a mistake."

Wild yawned. "Agreed."

After ushering Wild off to his own bedroll before he collapsed from exhaustion, Green got to his feet and weaved his way through camp where he set to the task of helping Time wake Sky. It took much harsh whispering, shaking, a couple slaps to the face, and a whole waterskin before the Chosen Hero cracked open his eyes.

Waking Sky turned out to be the most exciting part of watch, and it wasn't long before Green found himself snuggled back up in blankets, quietly shushing Red, Blue, and Vio, who had migrated to the front not long into his shift.

The remaining few hours of sleep couldn't truly be described as sleep. In fact, Green would categorize it more as dozing than anything.

Nonetheless, he got up with everyone else as the first rays of the sun peaked over the horizon and lit up the world. After a brief breakfast of hard bread and fruit (they definitely needed to make a supply run), the group of heroes set off for Lon Lon Ranch.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

On the way to the ranch, Green asked everyone to refrain from disclosing their secret to Malon. It wasn't that he didn't trust Time's wife—quite the opposite, actually. It was just that he felt like he owed Blue an apology and this was the best way he could think to do it.

After all, Green _had_ promised Blue they wouldn't make any more big decisions without everyone's approval, and considering Blue's current attitude towards revealing their secret to the other heroes, it was safe to assume he would not be okay with Malon being in the know.

None of the Links objected, for which Green was grateful. It made their stay at the ranch much more relaxing than it would have been otherwise. Green was in control most of the time, and when he wasn't it was either Vio or Red, who practically vibrated with the effort to pretend to be Green so as not to blow their cover. If Malon noticed anything strange about them, however, she didn't mention it. Hopefully, next time they visited Blue would be more open to talking.

For the time being, they made do with their acting skills and their journal, which was used strictly for silent communication among the four of them. Green wasn't sure if it was the cozy atmosphere or not, but not a single bad word was passed between them. Vio and Blue even apologized to each other. Of course, Vio had to be the initiator, but the fact that Blue even admitted that he _maybe sorta_ _possibly overreacted_ was a feat on all on its own.

The journal was so useful that as they entered the bustling market of Castle Town the next afternoon, Green had half a mind to look for another. At the rate they were going, the journal Warrior had gifted them would be filled by next week.

"Alright, boys," Time said, stopping by the fountain that dominated the market's center and turning on his heel to survey the rest of them. "It's time to divide and conquer. Split into the groups we discussed earlier and get what you need. We meet back here at sundown.

"Until then, have fun, don't do anything I wouldn't do, try not to get lost—" The one-eyed hero eyed 'Rule specifically as he said this, earning a few snickers from the group, Green included—"and I'll see the rest of you later."

With that, the Links split, Wild and Wind running after Time, while Hyrule and Warrior followed Twilight in a different direction. That left Four with Legend and Sky.

"Well. Lead on," Legend invited him with a dramatic sweeping gesture of his arm.

Each group was equipped with a Link that was familiar with, or at least semi-familiar with, Hyrule Castle Town. Green definitely fell into the semi-familiar with category but seeing as Vio could read Time's Hylian and no one else could, he was still in a better position to lead than anyone else in his group.

"_We're not going to find anything on our list here. This is the marketplace. All I see being sold is food, and Time's group is taking care of that," _Vio said.

"Right." Green nodded, setting off in the direction he determined would most likely lead them to brick and mortar shops based off of his current surroundings and his knowledge of Castle Town's layout in his own era.

"_Wait!" _Red exclaimed_. "I think I saw a stall selling pastries over there. To the right! Look to the right!"_

Green concentrated on looking anywhere but to the right. Red was a terror in marketplaces. Actually, they all were, and through no fault of their own. It was normal to go shopping and want things. Of course, when you were one of four people sharing a body, those desires were mixed and switching was inevitable.

"_Pastries aren't on our list,"_ Vio reminded the red Four Sword Hero.

"_I know but I want one."_

Blue scoffed. _"You wouldn't even be able to taste it."_

"_Actually, he could if he switched with Green, which is likely because sweets typically bring Red out," _Vio said.

"_Greeeen. Please?"_ Red whined.

"What should we look for first?" Sky asked as they left the crowded marketplace and entered a slightly less-crowded side street.

"I say we get whatever's closest," Legend voted.

Doing his best to tune out Red's pleas for them to backtrack and grab a snack, Green added his own two rupees to the conversation. "We should leave the forge for last. Otherwise you guys will be stuck waiting with nothing to do."

"_We need a new whetstone_," Blue piped up.

Green hummed softly in acknowledgement.

"Fair enough," Legend assented. "I still don't know why you bother repairing Wild's stuff, though. He's just going to break them anyway."

"Not if I make them more durable."

Legend scoffed at that. "I doubt you can make anything durable enough to stop Wild from breaking it."

"_Is that a challenge?"_ Blue wondered.

"Legend, that's not nice," Sky admonished the pink-haired hero.

"It's true. Must I remind you of the Master Sword incident?"

Sky grimaced. "Please don't."

"_Green, slow down," _Vio ordered._ "I can't read that fast."_

Green slowed his pace and focused on a single sign, hoping Vio would be able to read it.

"_Just look in the windows. It will be quicker," _Blue said.

"_Not all of the buildings have window displays,"_ Red observed. _"I think we should just ask someone!"_

"_Absolutely not!" _Blue objected.

Vio shushed them._ "I can read the signs. Keep going, Green."_

"Is that a shop we need to go in?" Sky's question drew Green's attention to the fact that he had stopped walking.

"I don't know yet. I'm trying to give Vio more time to read the signs," Green said, keeping his eyes trained on a painted wooden board overhanging a building to his right.

"You can't read them?" Legend asked in a tone that suggested he should be able to.

"No."

"How? Weren't you there when Time was teaching Vio?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't paying attention," Green returned. To be honest, he had tried to pay attention, but Vio soaked up information much faster than he did. As a result, the lesson on Time's Hylian ended up moving far too fast for Green to follow.

"_Next,"_ Vio requested, and Green obliged, starting to walk again. They continued on like this for a while, Green passing his gaze from sign to sign and Vio deciphering it to determine if the shop sold what they were looking for.

"_That one,"_ Vio said finally as they approached the end of their third side-street. _"They should have fishing line."_

"This one,"Green informed his companions, stepping up to the building Vio had indicated.

Upon entering the establishment, it was obvious that it was a bait and tackle shop.

The shopkeeper greeted them with a hearty hello which Sky returned. Green simply waved while Legend dipped his head in acknowledgement.

Soon enough they were viewing the store's many spools of fishing line.

"Shouldn't Twilight be here? It was his line that broke, and I don't know the first thing about selecting fishing line," Green said, picking up a spool and wondering how it was different from the rest. Size maybe? Strength as well?

"Luckily, I do know a thing or two about fishing line," Legend said, perusing the spools for the proper one. "Which is why I'm here."

"How'd Twilight's line even break in the first place?" Sky wondered.

Legend shot him a deadpan look. "Do you have to ask?"

"Wild?" Sky guessed.

"Wild," Green and Legend confirmed.

"_Wild's method of catching fish is much more effective than a regular old fishing rod," _Blue claimed._ "I say skip the line. Let Wild use those fancy bombs of his to catch our dinner."_

"No."

"_That's inherently bad for the environment," _Vio scolded. _"Not to mention the fish are no good when they're blown to pieces."_

"_The poor fishies!"_ Red wailed.

"No…what?" Legend prompted, sparing a glance at him as he sorted through the shop's wares.

Did Green say that out loud? Apparently. "I was just saying no to Blue. He said to forget the fishing line and let Wild fish with bombs."

"Dear Goddess, no!" Sky exclaimed, aghast.

Legend laughed. "I like how Blue thinks."

Warmth blossomed in his chest at Legend's comment, making Green smile. Blue in a good mood was always a good sign.

They browsed around the shop a bit more before Legend identified the perfect replacement line and paid for it.

"One stop down, two more to go," Legend said, slipping the fishing line into his pouch as they exited the shop.

Immediately, Green directed his gaze down the street, looking ahead for more signs to point them in the right direction. It was during this cursory glance that a flash of burnished gold caught his eye. Focusing on it was hardly a conscious choice. After all, everything was so monotonous in Time's Castle Town. Any pop of color that wasn't an earthy red or brown naturally drew the eye. Doubly so if that pop of color was moving, which this one was.

A dog filled his vision, and Green's head buzzed with excitement.

No. Green attempted to put his foot down, but Red wanted to pet the dog so _bad,_ and in between one blink and the next Red was running over to the furry animal. The dog had noticed him as well and bounded over happily, tail wagging.

Red knelt down and held his hands out in anticipation, absolutely delighted when the dog all but launched itself into his arms with a yip and began to lick his face. He squeezed his eyes shut, giggling at the way the dog's tongue tickled his cheek.

Pounding footsteps sounded behind him, and Red opened his eyes just in time to see Sky and Legend approach.

"What in Din's name are you doing?" Legend demanded.

"Petting the dog," Red replied cheerfully, running his hands over the dog's soft but tangled fur. Hmm, that wouldn't do. He knew he never liked it when his hair got knotted. It always hurt to brush out, but he _could_ brush it out. Unlike his new friend who had paws in place of hands and no owner to brush his fur for him, judging by the lack of collar around his neck. Maybe Red could brush it out? Oh, but not with his brush. Blue would be mad if the dog ended up having fleas and the bugs got into their stuff. Maybe just with his fingers then…

"I can see that," Legend's voice cut through his thoughts. "Why?"

"Because I like dogs," Red said absentmindedly, combing his fingers through the dog's fur. They got caught often.

"We don't have time for you to like dogs."

"What Legend means—" Sky interjected hurriedly and in a much more amiable tone, "—is that we have some errands to run, but we can come back and pet the dog later if we have time."

Red froze, clapping a hand over his mouth and looking up at his two traveling companions in horror. That's right. They were supposed to be running errands. And he'd just switched out with Green.

His head was scarily silent.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come out."

"It's okay," Sky reassured him.

He shook his head, tears pricking his eyes. "But now Vio's not here, and I don't know how to read the signs."

Legend blew out an aggravated sigh. "How long does it take for him to come back?"

His hands trembled slightly as he patted the dog in thought. "Sometimes it's quick. Sometimes not."

'_Vio come back,'_ he silently begged. _'Please.'_

There was no answer.

"Great," Legend said in a tone that didn't sound like he thought their current situation was great at all.

"It's fine," Sky insisted. "Just let us know when Vio comes back, okay?"

Red nodded. He wouldn't mess that up.

"So we're just going to sit here then?" Legend wondered, sounding miffed. Red winced. Not even petting the dog could lift his spirits. He'd messed up, and now Legend was mad at him.

"No, we'll keep walking. I'm sure we can figure it out based on window displays and pictures on signs. The clothing shop shouldn't be hard to spot and neither should the forge," Sky said. "If we get really lost we can always ask someone for directions."

With a final pat on the stray's head, Red got to his feet.

"Don't run off anymore," Legend ordered.

"I won't!" He slipped one hand into Sky's and the other into Legend's to prove it. "Sorry, again."

Legend squeezed his hand. "S'fine. I'm not mad at you."

"Really?" He had to ask. It was weird but lots of people said they weren't mad when they really were. Legend seemed like the kind of person to do that.

"Really," Legend confirmed, eyes trained ahead as they began to walk.

Red squinted at the Hero of Legend, unconvinced. He had a frown on his face. Frowns didn't usually mean people were content. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Red." A smirk replaced his frown. "Grumpy and done with the world is kind of my natural state if you haven't noticed."

Red giggled at that.

Reassured, Red's mood brightened, and he took great pleasure in looking around the town the way he wanted. It was nice to not have to beg Green to turn his head so Red could look at something. Now he could do it himself.

He was especially glad for his current abilities when a toy store came into view.

"Let's go in there!" Red exclaimed, taking the initiative and dragging his companions over to the building. It stuck out from those around it and not just because of the toys displayed in its windows. Bright blues, reds, yellows, and greens decorated the bricks in a blocky mosaic and colorful, triangular banners lined the windows.

"A toy shop?" Sky wondered, stumbling after him.

"Yeah!"

Legend pulled back, nearly causing Red and Sky to fall. "We don't need anything there."

Red shook his hands free, then, and turned to face Legend. "Can't we just look?" He clasped his hands together in a pleading manner. "Please?"

Legend didn't look convinced.

Thankfully, Sky was on his side. "I don't see why not. We're not in a rush and it will be a lot easier to find the shops we're actually looking for when Vio's around. Browsing in there should give him enough time to come back from…wherever he went, right?"

"Right!" Red chirped, grinning up at the Chosen Hero.

Legend rolled his eyes. "Fine. You two are such children."

Cheering, Red made a beeline for the colorful shop with Sky and Legend on his tail.

The inside was even better than the outside, mostly because of all the toys_._ Red wished he had a million pairs of eyes so he could look at everything at once but since he only had one, he settled with darting towards the first thing that drew his interest.

Little painted figurines stood proudly on a wooden shelf. Some were fashioned to look like people but most were animals. It didn't take long for Red to locate a bunch of little dogs, all different breeds.

"Look!" He held them up for Sky's inspection.

Sky smiled, taking one from Red's open palms and turning it over in his hands. "This is beautifully crafted. And so small! I wonder what tools they used to carve this…"

"Maybe the Minish carved them!" Red suggested. "Normal carving tools would be big to a Minish. It'd be like carving a life-sized sculpture."

"You think?" Sky asked, eyes shining in wonder at the prospect.

"No way," Legend cut in. "Didn't you say Minish hide from people?"

"They're invisible to adults, but they leave things for people all the time."

Legend plucked a tiny dog out of his hands to inspect it with half-hearted interest. "Do they make a monopoly off of it?"

"A what?" Red forgot what that word meant.

"A business. Profit," Legend explained. "You know, money?"

"Oh! No," Red said, setting the remaining figures in his hands back on the shelf, reorganizing them so they were all standing upright and happy again. "They leave rupees in the grass, but they don't take them."

"Then I doubt these things are actually made by Minish," Legend declared, plunking the figure in his hand down on the shelf as well.

"Perhaps they did and someone just found a bunch of them and decided to sell them?" Sky proposed.

Legend scoffed. "Now you're reaching."

Leaving Legend and Sky to their discussion of the tiny figures' origins, Red moved deeper into the shop. That's when he found it. The wall of plushies.

They were all so _cute_! Barely conscious of what he was doing, Red rushed towards the shelves and proceeded to test each stuffed toy for cuddlability. He quickly discovered an issue. They were all so cuddlable!

Before he knew it, his arms were full of fluffy, huggable plushies. He was then faced with a new problem. How to find Sky and Legend… His sight was obscured. He could just walk until he bumped into someone but what if it wasn't one of the Links? And even if it was, he risked losing one of the precious bundles in his arms.

Fortunately for Red, he didn't have to go anywhere.

"What are you planning to do with those?" Legend asked, peering around the mountain of plushies in Red's arms, a wry smile on his face.

"Buy them," Red answered easily. "Can you take some? It's hard to hold all of them at once, and I don't want to drop any."

Legend's smile vanished. "Hold on a minute. What happened to just looking?"

"I looked, I liked, and now I want," Red said matter-of-factly.

Legend barked out a laugh at that. "Aren't you too old for those things?"

Red pouted, pressing the soft toys closer to his chest. No one was ever too old for plushies…were they?

Sensing he'd struck a nerve, Legend quickly backpedaled. "Uh, I mean, whatever you're into. I don't care, but do you really need_ all_ of those?"

"They're not all for me!" That would just be ridiculous. "One's for Green, one's for Vio, one's for Blue, one's for you, one's for Sky, one's for Wind, one's for 'Rule-"

"Red, that's sweet, but I don't think everyone needs one," Sky interjected gently.

"But feel! They're really soft!" Red stepped closer to Sky, prompting the man to take a plushie from his arms.

As soon as Sky did so, he gasped. "Sweet Hylia! That is soft."

"Not you too." Legend groaned.

"No, really, Legend. You need to feel it," Sky insisted.

"I-" A plush was shoved into the seasoned hero's hand before he could finish his protest. "Oh. _Oh. _Din, that is soft."

"So I can get them?" Red asked hopefully, bouncing on his toes.

"Did you even look at the price?" Legend shot back.

The question gave him pause, and he shook his head.

Pushing past him, Legend peered at the sign attached to the shelf. "If I'm reading this right—and I think I am—they're one hundred rupees each."

One hundred rupees? That was expensive!

"How much money do you have?" Sky asked Red while Legend muttered something under his breath about highway robbery.

Red swayed in placed, wracking his brain for a number but coming up empty. Vio and Green normally kept track of that stuff, and they were never _out_ of money so… "Probably enough."

"1,200?" Legend nodded to the pile of toys in Red's arms. "That's how much all of those will cost."

His distress must have shown on his face, for Legend stepped forward, relieving him of plushies one by one. "But I can assure you that if anyone else wants one, they'll buy it themselves. These can be put back."

"But what about Blue, Green, and Vio's?" Red wondered. "Can't I get them each one too?"

"Did they ask for one?"

"No but-"

"Let's see how much money you have first," Sky said. "Where's your wallet?"

Red dug out the pouch containing their money, and with Sky's help, counted the gems inside. They came up with a grand total of five hundred and two.

"A quarter of five hundred two would be…about one twenty five, I think?" Sky said after a few moments. "So you can get one. That way it's fair and all four of you have money to spend."

That did sound fair but… "Can't I get two?" He grabbed a bunny plush to join the scarlet fox plush Legend had left in his arms. If he only got one it would be lonely in his bag all day. He needed to get a pair so they could be friends and keep each other company.

"No. Put it back," Legend said.

"But-"

"Put. It. Back."

Red pouted, leveling Legend with his best puppy dog eyes.

"That doesn't work on me," Legend informed him. Red begged to differ. It only wasn't working because Legend was looking at the ceiling instead of at him.

"Maybe you can get one of those and one of those painted figures we saw earlier," Sky spoke up, ignoring Legend as he mouthed _"weak"_ at the Skyloftian.

Red considered Sky's words and as he did, he liked the idea more and more. Compared to the plushies, the figurines were tiny, like the Minish. It would be like his fluffy friend had a tiny friend of its own! Warming up to the idea, Red glanced between the bunny and the fox, then at the other plushies lining the wall behind him. He could only get one so he had to choose wisely.

In the end, he gravitated towards a yellow fox, which upon closer inspection had three tails so Red wasn't sure it was a fox at all. Nevertheless, it was super soft and cute, and as soon as Red exchanged the plush toys in his arms for it, he knew it was the one.

Decision made, Red followed Sky back to the figurine display. When they got there, however, they were met with disappointment.

"Fifty rupees for _one_?" Legend griped. "That's ridiculous. There has to be a better priced toy shop around here."

"But I want this!" Red exclaimed, holding up the three-tailed fox in the air.

Legend remained unimpressed. "Another shop probably has it for cheaper."

"But what if they don't?" Red hugged the plushie close. Now that he'd picked it, he couldn't possibly put it back. That was like making a friend and deciding five minutes later you didn't want to be their friend anymore for no reason at all. It was cruel.

Legend rolled his eyes and was about to retort but Sky beat him to it. "You get that—" Sky nodded to the yellow fox in his arms. "—and I'll try to carve you a figurine or two later. How does that sound?"

Red brightened at the prospect. It sounded wonderful! "Could you make a little Wolfie?"

Sky chuckled. "I'll try."

"Thank you!" Red rushed forward to wrap Sky up in a tight hug, and Sky squeezed him back.

"You're welcome."

Legend ushered him to the counter after that, and Red paid for his new friend. He didn't let go of it even after they exited the shop.

"No more detours," Legend declared as they melded back into the afternoon rush, Red grabbing Sky's hand so as not to get separated. "We need to find a tailor."

A woman in a hurry nearly bowled over Legend, who treated her retreating back to some choice words that made Red cringe.

"Legend, don't cause trouble," Sky implored as Red pressed closer to his side.

"I'm not! Some people don't know how to walk."

"She was obviously in a rush," Sky said. "Leave it."

And Legend did. Until another person jostled them, and then another person and another. It seemed that the afternoon rush was in full swing. Fortunately, some people did say "sorry" and "excuse me", but shoves and "watch where you're going's!" were much more common place.

"You should put that in your bag so don't you lose it," Sky spoke up, eyeing the yellow plushie Red was clutching as tightly as Legend was his wallet.

"No, it'll get lonely."

Legend quirked an eyebrow. "You know it's not alive, right?"

Red shrugged. Sure, logically, he knew that. But another part of him screamed that if he put the toy away it would get lonely.

"Red, how old are you?" The question was so out of the blue that for a moment, Red just stared up at Sky. "I'm just wondering because you don't act like you're the same age as the others."

"I am," Red said, playing with the plush fox's long ears. "Just not right now."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Legend wondered.

"It means I'm little." It happened sometimes. Consciously, he knew the body was sixteen. By extension, that made him sixteen as well. However, sometimes he didn't feel sixteen. Sometimes he felt younger, like now.

"How little?" Sky asked.

He didn't have a habit of narrowing it down to numbers so it took Red a minute to form a response. Once the number "seven" passed his lips, however, it felt right.

"Well, now the toy shop makes sense," Legend said, placing a hand on his hip. "Do the others switch ages too?"

"I dunno." He had never asked the others about it.

The questions stopped coming, then, as Legend and Sky realized he didn't have answers.

Despite this, Red noticed Legend pressed a little closer to his side and Sky gripped his hand a little firmer as they continued their hunt through the town. Unfortunately Vio hadn't found his way back to the front yet, so the three of them were left to puzzle out signs themselves.

So far, they'd struck out at five shops. Just as they were exiting the fifth, Red's vision began to blur. He blinked furiously, hoping to clear it. To his frustration, the world in front of him jumped into sharp clarity before becoming even more unfocused than before. It was all he could do to tug on Sky's hand to tell him to stop. Each step was a gamble, his feet threatening to tangle and trip him. Were they even his feet anymore?

"Do you need to sit?"

Wordlessly, Red nodded, letting Sky lead him to a bench.

Once sitting, he rubbed his eyes, but that only made it worse. Having his eyes open at all was dizzying, like he'd spun around and around and around to get the world spinning. But he didn't want the world to spin. He didn't want to switch! He was having fun shopping with Sky and Legend.

"Who are you switching with?" Legend asked. "Vio?"

Sky shushed him.

"I'm just asking."

There was a tinge of hope accompanied with Legend's guess, but Red had no idea. He definitely felt someone pushing and pulling at him, but he couldn't tell exactly who it was.

Groaning, he squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in Sky's side. A comforting arm slipped around his shoulders, but Red hardly felt it. He was already slipping back and back and back into the dark nothingness of their shared mind.

Meanwhile, Green stumbled forward, wading his way through the dark nothing until it turned into dizzy dark awareness, the sounds of the bustling town trickling into his ears before bursting like a dam. It was too loud. He flinched, pulling away from whoever he was pressed against and snapping his eyes open. After some rapid blinking, the Chosen Hero's image swam into view.

Green offered a small smile as his vision and hearing stabilized. "Hi."

Sky beamed back. "Hi."

"You dropped this," Legend said, causing Green to notice the yellow fox plush in the man's hand.

He stared at it, confused. That wasn't his. "What…?" Then the pieces fell into place, and he leapt to his feet, grabbing the toy to inspect it. The plushie was well-crafted and incredibly soft. It couldn't have been cheap. "Please tell me Red didn't spend all our money."

"We stopped him," Sky assured him.

"You're welcome," Legend added.

He breathed out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, guys. And…I'm sorry."

"What for?" Sky wondered.

"For not warning you. Markets and towns make us really switchy."

Sky smiled at him kindly. "Don't worry about it."

"Yeah," Legend agreed. "Red kept us entertained."

"So," Green said, staring down at the plushie in his hands. Upon closer inspection it wasn't a fox at all. Not a normal one, anyway, for it had three tails instead of one. It was odd, yet charming in a way. He could see why Red had picked it.

"So?" Legend prompted.

He shook himself, stowing the plush away in his bag. There was no way he could hold onto it for long. Already, he could feel Red pressing at the edge of his mind. He did _not_ want to switch again. "Did we get anything done?"

"Nope."

Green winced at Legend's answer. "Sorry."

Sky was quick to reassure him. "It's not your fault, and we've still got plenty of time besides."

"Still, if you're feeling better we should continue moving," Legend said.

"We can keep going." A small headache pulsed at his temples but it was manageable.

The three of them set off once more, pushing through the afternoon crowd with no real destination. Fortunately, Green felt Vio's presence soon enough so puzzling out where they had to go became easier. The crowd became so thick at one point that Sky placed Green on his shoulders so he—and in turn Vio—had a better view of the shop signs.

"Clothing shop. Up ahead, to the right. Three signs down," Green announced, relaying Vio's instructions to his companions.

"Finally!" Legend exclaimed in relief. "Thank you Vio. And Green for being his eyes."

"And Sky, for giving us a boost," Green added, patting Sky's head to convey his appreciation.

"Yes, and Sky," Legend agreed.

Once at the entrance to the clothing shop, Sky let Green down and they ventured inside.

"I'll be with you in just a moment!" A woman's voice called from somewhere farther inside the shop, which was filled with customers.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for the shopkeeper, a lithe, middle-aged woman to appear with a friendly smile on her face. "Welcome. How can I help you?"

"Hi, we're looking for a cloak. Something warm that will fit this one," Sky said, putting a hand on Green's shoulder. The cloak was actually for Wind. With the weather getting cooler across all their Hyrules, they were all getting a little chilly. Wind, however, was the worst off as his clothes were thin and thus unsuitable for an autumnal climate, much less a wintery one. The sailor refused to acknowledge this, denying that he was cold even when it was fairly obvious that he was. That was why the rest of them had taken it upon themselves to get him a cloak to keep him warm. In secret of course, because Wind would refuse it otherwise.

Seeing as the Hero of the Four Sword was similar to Wind in height and build, it was decided that he would be used for fitting purposes.

The shopkeeper looked Green up and down, memorizing his height and shape before turning on her heel. "Follow me, please. I believe I have just the thing."

It turned out that she had quite a few options for them to choose from. Green ran his hands over the selection of cloaks. Some were coarser than others, some thicker, some thinner, some softer.

He opted for one that was thick and soft after some back and forth with Sky and Vio. The charcoal grey cloak fit him perfectly and was quite warm. A little bigger and it would be perfect for Wind. Now the issue was…how to ask for a larger size when this one obviously fit him well.

"It looks like it fits perfectly." The shopkeeper beamed, gently tugging on a hem here or there to get the cloak to lay nicer. "Would you like this one?"

"Actually, can we have something a little bigger? Want to make sure he can grow into you know?" Legend smirked, impervious to the war he'd set off in Green's head.

He felt his face grow hot. _"Legend,"_ he hissed, fidgeting uncomfortably as the shopkeeper excused herself to search for a larger size.

Suddenly the cloak was far too hot, and he slipped out of it.

"What? How were you going to say it?"

"_Not like that!"_ Blue exclaimed indignantly. _"We aren't children!"_

"_It's a valid excuse," _Vio countered, altogether nonplussed by the whole affair. "_Technically, males don't stop growing until their late teens, and we don't exactly look like we're in our late teens."_

"_Shut up, Vio! No one asked you."_

"_The cloak is for Wind anyway. Why does it matter?"_ Red piped up.

"_It matters because Legend's calling us short!"_

"_But…we are short."_

"_That's an opinion,"_ Blue shot back.

"_It's a fact,"_ Vio stated.

"_I'll show you a fact!"_

"_I'd like to see you try."_

Green glared half-heartedly at Legend. "Blue's planning your demise."

Legend laughed. "Good."

The shopkeeper returned a few minutes later with a deep blue cloak draped over her arm. "Try this."

Green obliged, delighted to find that it was just as cozy as the first cloak he'd tried. Wind would probably like the color more too.

Decision made, they quickly purchased the cloak, all three of them chipping in rupees for it. Just as they were about to exit the shop, Red stopped him.

"_Wait! What about the headbands?"_

That's right. They were each going to get a headband that matched their color.

"You coming?" Legend asked, holding the door open.

"Wait, Red just reminded me. We wanted to get different colored headbands so everyone has their own."

"I think you'd have better luck with that at a tailor," Sky said. "They have lots of fabric they can cut to size. I don't think this place sells headbands anyway."

Taking a quick glance around the shop, Green was inclined to agree. He stepped outside. "Alright, we'll find a tailor."

Finding said tailor didn't take long, courtesy of Vio who was so close to the front that he was practically in control. Before he knew it, he was looking at bolts upon bolts of fabric.

Green and Vio viewed the selection of reds first, getting feedback from the most optimistic Four Sword Hero and quickly selecting one. They perused the blues next, but Blue was being difficult.

"_That doesn't match."_

"It practically matches," Green mumbled.

"_You're not going to find an exact match," _Vio added.

"_Watch me."_

Green sighed, fingering a different fabric, this one slightly paler than the last.

"_That's even farther!"_ Blue griped. _"Are you color blind? Seriously, look at our tunic. Match it against that."_

"I _am_," Green stressed.

"_You aren't."_

"What about this one?"Sky asked, drawing his attention farther down the line of fabrics to a rich blue that was just slightly darker than the blue of their tunic.

"That's close," Green and Vio said together.

"_Not close enough."_

Green made a face, and Sky took notice. "But...no?"

"Mmm….maybe. Blue's being picky."

"Well, we're not staying here all day. He better pick something," Legend said from where he was leaned up against the wall, thoroughly uninterested in their current errand.

"_Yes, Blue, better pick something," _Vio agreed.

"_I'll pick the one that matches! So far, none of them match."_

Frustration swirled in his chest, and it was all Green could do not to scream.

"_I'll pick for you," _Red offered.

"_No."_

"Pick in the next ten seconds or Red's picking,"Green threatened.

"_Ugh, fine."_ He could hear the eye roll in Blue's voice._ "Go with the one Sky picked."_

"We're going with your choice, Sky," he informed the Chosen Hero.

"Okay, we just need to find Vio's now, right?"

"Right."

Because the colors were set up in the order of a rainbow, they didn't have to travel much farther into the shop to reach the purple section. To Vio's dismay, none of the colors were quite right. Some edged too close to pink for his liking while others edged too close to blue. None were a shade he'd classify as violet and those that were somewhat close were made of a fabric that he could tell was itchy just by looking at it.

"_Oh! Look who's being difficult now!" _Blue carped after a minute or two had elapsed without success.

Vio chose to ignore him as he crouched down to peruse the lower racks. A minute was nothing. Blue had wasted at least ten agonizing over his own decision.

"This one?" Green wondered, shooting out a hand to touch a nearby roll of fabric that looked fairly close in hue to the purple on their tunic. Silk. It would slip right off his head. Not to mention that silk was expensive.

Green must have had the same thought, for he quickly retracted his hand.

Perfectionist though he was, Vio refused to be a hypocrite and keep them in the shop until he found the exact match that Blue had longed for and been denied. Therefore, he settled for a sturdy indigo fabric when it became clear his ideal shade of violet was out of the question.

Soon enough, they had secured the fabric which Vio presumed Red would sew into headbands for the rest of them at some point and exited the tailor shop.

"Forge next," Legend declared.

"Forge next," Green agreed as Vio nodded.

"Do you want to ride on my shoulders again so you can see?" Sky offered.

"I don't think that will be necessary," Vio said. "The crowd's thinning." Apparently, the afternoon rush was ending, which was fortunate for Vio. He didn't exactly like being picked up, unlike Green and Red.

Casting his gaze out across the street, Vio began scanning signs. He wasn't sure if it was because he and Green were sharing control or not, but it seemed to take a little longer for him to remember which symbols meant what.

He didn't need to know how to read Time's Hylian in order to identify the book shop, though. The hanging book-shaped sign and stacks of books flooding the display windows made it evident enough what the shop sold. He found himself drifting over to it, only for his sleeve to be caught by Legend.

"That doesn't look like a forge."

Vio froze, angling his body towards Legend. "It's not. Sorry. I just really wanted to go in there. I can wait, though."

"Are you sure?" Sky had stopped as well. "We can go in if you want. We have time."

Vio stole a glance at the book shop before turning back to his companions. "It's more important that we get the materials we need to finish repairing everyone's things. We can come back here afterwards." Unlike the others, he had self-control. The books would still be there after they finished shopping for what they had come to town for.

"I don't want you to miss out, though. Do you think you'll be able to find it again?" Sky worried.

"Yes," Vio answered with confidence, taking in his surroundings and committing it to memory. It served him well enough most days.

"Of course he can," Legend agreed. "He's smart." Intelligence had nothing to do with it. Perceptive, more like. But Vio wasn't going to start anything over semantics. "Now let's go find a forge while the only person that can read this era's Hylian is still with us." With that, Legend ushered both him and Sky forward and neither felt inclined to resist.

Being in full control, Vio found, allowed him to be much more efficient and in no time at all he'd followed the signs and arrived at a forge. The heat radiating out from the building beckoned him closer like a warm, calloused hand welcoming him home.

A smile touched his lips as he strode inside, Sky and Legend at his heels. The blacksmith on duty found them quickly, and after Vio explained that he was a blacksmith himself in search of some parts, the man set him up at a workstation and gave him the supplies he needed—after he paid for them, of course—and left him to it with a warning to be careful. As if Vio needed to be told twice. He was practically raised in a forge.

The man didn't know that, though. He probably thought Vio was no more than a blacksmith's apprentice. An amateur playing at master. That was fine. Vio didn't much care what the man thought, so long as he could use the forge.

Blue did care what the man thought, apparently, for he shouted quite loudly about how they were _not_ a child, as if the increased volume would increase the chance of the man hearing him. It did not.

Fortunately, once Vio began to pull out tools and weapons in need of repair from their bag, Blue quieted, pushing even closer to the front in order to get in on the action. It wasn't surprising in the least. Blue normally found solace in working with his hands. Smithing work was great for that.

"How long's this going to take?" Legend asked in his usual brash manner. Vio knew not to be insulted by it.

"A half hour," he declared, feeling as if he was slipping off metaphorical gloves as Blue took control of the hands. "Give or take. You can watch if you want."

"_No, they can't,"_ Blue refuted, still organizing their workspace.

Vio continued as if Blue had never spoken, which, as far as the other two heroes knew, he hadn't. "But you don't have to. Feel free to go back to the meeting place early. We'll join you later."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea." Sky's words gave both him and Blue pause and his gaze whipped around to land on the Skyloftian.

"Why not?" The words tumbled out of his mouth, a mix of curious and accusatory. The sharper tone was most certainly Blue, and Vio did his best to clear it from his voice. "Do you not know the way back? From here you take a left and—"

"No, that's not it." Sky interrupted with a shake of his head. "I think we can find our way back, but well, earlier when Red was out he said he was seven."

Vio felt his eyebrows knit together at that but he couldn't tell if the action belonged to him or Blue. Either way, the confusion remained. "What do you mean? Like…age?"

"Yes."

"Red's sixteen like the rest of us." It was strange for Red to be lying. So maybe Sky was lying? But then, what would be the point of that?

"He said that too," Sky confirmed. "But he also said he isn't all the time."

"And judging by your reaction, you have no idea what we're talking about," Legend observed.

A frown tugged at his mouth. "Can't say I do. Red has never mentioned de-aging before, and I've never experienced it."

"What about the others?" Sky wondered.

Slowly, he shook his head. "I don't think so. We don't just magically switch ages."

"Are you trying to say he was messing with us?" Legend demanded.

"No, I mean—I don't know. Perhaps, but it's not like Red to do such things like that." His tongue felt thick in his mouth, his head spacey. "I…we will talk to him about it later."

"Right, I think you should do that, but that's also why I don't like the idea of leaving you alone. If Red does come out, and he's little again…" Sky didn't have to continue for them to get the gist. A seven-year-old, even in the body of a sixteen-year-old, running around town without a responsible adult was dangerous.

Unfortunately, Vio couldn't express his agreement because Blue had stolen his tongue. "We don't need to be babysat."

Sky quickly backpedaled. "No, no, of course not. That's not what I'm saying. I just-"

"Think we can't be left alone?" Blue finished for him, switching to Green's voice. Vio was barely present anymore. There was no danger of their voices blending.

"No, I'm just concerned that Red might get scared or spend all your money or something if he suddenly finds himself alone," Sky explained.

"He won't," Blue claimed. "He knows better." Which was true, but it was also true that Red was impulsive, and if Sky and Legend were right and he was sometimes younger then that impulsiveness may be amplified. Besides that, Red did not like to be left alone. Blue knew that for a fact, so he supposed Sky's argument made sense, but he couldn't help feeling like they were being treated like children anyway.

"Who's speaking right now? Is it still Vio?" Legend asked suddenly.

"No. It's Green."

Legend narrowed his eyes skeptically. "What's the code?"

"Legend times four," Blue answered without missing a beat.

Legend nodded, satisfied. "Alright, just checking. You seem more agitated than normal."

"Blue's close," he offered by way of explanation.

"Did we make him mad? I wasn't even trying this time." Legend smirked, earning a disapproving look from Sky.

"He doesn't appreciate that you two are treating us like children. His words. Not mine," Blue hastily added when Legend raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Sorry, we don't mean to," Sky apologized, which was more than Blue had expected if he was being honest.

"Okay, well, I'm hungry so what if Sky and I leave—" Legend held his hand up to stop Sky's protest. "—and go get something to eat—"

"Without us?" Blue interjected.

"We'll bring you back something," Legend assured him. "But by then you should be almost done, and we can go back to the meeting place together."

"Book shop, then meeting place," Sky said. "Vio wanted to go back there, remember?"

"Yeah, so book shop then meeting place," Legend amended with a lazy wave of his hand. "So? Is that cool with Blue?"

He could do without the book shop but everything else sounded great and, truly, it was encouraging to see the other heroes taking into account their safety and everyone's needs. He paused an extra moment, pretending like he was listening to his own reply before giving it. "Yes."

"Great; see you soon, then," Legend said, swiveling on his heel. "C'mon, Sky."

Sky hesitated briefly, glancing between him and Legend before waving farewell and hurrying to catch up with the most seasoned hero among them.

Blue took advantage of the peace to lose himself in repair work, welding fresh handles to shields and sharpening blades with their new whetstone. Honestly, everyone's swords could do with some sharpening but he only had his, Hyrule's, and Wild's with him. Fortunately it didn't matter much because he didn't need a forge in order to sharpen blades.

"_Where are Sky and Legend?"_ Green asked as Blue was in the process of adding another layer of metal to one of Wild's shields. If he had the time, he would have made a new one for the champion, but he didn't so this would have to do for now.

"Getting food," Blue mumbled distractedly. He had to get the metal sheet to overlay the shield before it cooled or else the entire endeavor would be for nothing.

"_Yum!"_ Red cheered. _"What kind?"_

"Don't know." And at the moment, Blue didn't care. He had to focus on what he was doing. Wild wouldn't mind if he ruined the shield, but Blue definitely minded. He liked to do his work well.

"_Sweets?"_ Red asked hopefully.

"_Probably not,"_ Green returned as Blue did his best to ignore them all.

"_Red,"_ Vio called, grabbing the most energetic Four Sword Hero's attention.

"_Yeah?"_

"_Sky and Legend mentioned something about you de-aging earlier. Care to explain?"_

"_What?"_ Green piped up, confused.

"_He said he was seven years old earlier,"_ Vio explained for Green's sake. _"Apparently."_

"_Because I felt like I was,"_ Red said. _"I know I'm not but sometimes I feel younger than sixteen."_

"_Since when?" _Vio asked.

Blue felt the urge to shrug but shook it off._ "Since…I don't know. Ever since we all merged back into one? But not immediately, like…it's not all the time."_

"_Why are we only hearing about this now?" _Green wanted to know, sounding a bit miffed.

He could feel Red shrink back a little. _"Dunno. I didn't think it was important. I thought you guys did it too."_

"_No."_

"_Never._

"Nope." Blue mumbled.

"_Oh," _Red hummed._ "Sorry for not mentioning it, then."_

"_It's okay," _Green assured him. _"How often does it happen?"_

"_Not too often. I think it happened this time because of the toy shop," _Red reported meekly.

"Then we'll avoid toy shops,"Blue muttered. He had finished the critical stage of his repairs, so he had no qualms with joining in on the conversation.

"_Noooo! I like them. They have cute plushies."_

"I thought you said you were sixteen like the rest of us most of the time," Blue objected.

"_I am, but that doesn't mean I can't like cute, fluffy things."_

Green laughed, and Blue shook his head, returning his full attention to repairs.

By the time Legend and Sky returned, Blue had finished fixing everything and exchanged the mini meat pie Legend handed him for a yellow rupee.

Only when he took a bite did he realize that he was hungry, and Blue found that he had no objections as the others helped him put the repaired weapons and tools away.

Before he knew it, they had backtracked to the book shop, and Vio surged into control so fast that he almost stumbled. Experience with jarring switches kept Vio on his feet, however, and he strolled inside, inhaling the familiar, comforting scent of leather-bound parchment.

He immediately made for the shelves, sliding a random book out and flipping through the inked pages in awe. In his hands was literature that wouldn't be written for centuries! This was a once in a life-time opportunity, and he'd be a fool to waste it, so naturally, he began tugging books off shelves.

"_Wait wait wait! Don't spend all our money!" _Green's cry startled Vio so much that he nearly dropped the books. Luckily, Sky and Legend were close enough to steady the precarious tower of books and take some off his hands.

"I was told you're the sensible one so I'm going to assume you're not purchasing all of these," Legend said.

"Of course not," Vio replied, appalled at the lack of faith both Legend and Green had in him. "I'm just trying to take stock of my options."

"Maybe you should review these options before you grab anymore?" Sky suggested, seeming to struggle with the amount of books he was holding.

Now that Vio took the time to look at the many books he'd picked out and feel how heavy the tower of books in his own arms was becoming, he had to agree. "Yes. Probably."

Gently, Vio set the stack of books down and grabbed one off the top, skimming it for a synopsis. He continued this tedious process of elimination long enough for Sky to doze off against the wall, and Legend to grow so bored that he left to return to the meeting spot early. Or well, now that Vio glanced at the window, it may not have been so early.

"_Vio, they're books,"_ Blue deadpanned. _"They're all equally boring. Just pick one so we can go. You can't even read it anyway."_

"I could read faster if you'd stop talking," Vio shot back. Concentrating on anything was a dreadful affair with voices in one's head.

A groan of aggravation filled his head, and he was tempted to vocalize it. _"I wish I could leave like Legend."_

"_Relax,"_ Green chastised, though Vio could feel his annoyance too. _"He's almost done, right, Vio?"_

There was still so many books he hadn't explored, but with the pace he was going at it'd be impossible to view them all. He surrendered to his fate with a sigh. "Right."

A cheer from Red and Green arose, but Blue refused to make any noise of joy until they had left the premises.

Smiling slightly at his brothers' antics, Vio forewent scouring the remaining pile of books and looked over the tomes he'd set aside earlier. After much debate, Vio chose two and returned the rest to the shelves. He paid for them first, then went back and nudged Sky awake.

Sky yawned, stretching. "Is it morning?"

"Not quite."

Understanding dawned on the Chosen Hero's face as he took in their surroundings. "Did you pick out a book?"

"Yes. Two, actually."

"That's good. Where's Legend?" Sky asked, getting to his feet and trailing after Vio.

"He abandoned us," Vio said as he pushed open the door and exited the shop.

"_FREEDOM!"_

Vio jumped at the sudden scream.

"Are you okay?"

Red giggled and echoed Blue's cry. _"Freedom!"_

Green let out a whoop.

"Yes," Vio grit out, rubbing his aching temples. "Blue decided it would be funny to scream."

"_I didn't decide it'd be funny to do anything,"_ Blue refuted. _"I told you I'd celebrate when we finally escaped that torture chamber. That was me celebrating."_

Vio released an exasperated sigh. He really couldn't sometimes.

"Ah, well…" Sky rubbed the back of his neck, a habit Vio had noted on multiple Links. It usually happened when they were feeling sheepish or uncertain. Vio guessed Sky fell into the latter category at the moment. Not that Vio blamed him. He didn't know how to react to the others shenanigans half the time. Often, there was no correct method other than ignoring them, and Sky did exactly that by changing the subject. "I think it might be a good thing Legend went ahead."

Looking up at the twilit sky, Vio agreed.

The two set a brisk pace back to the market center, pausing only briefly to take pity on a baker who was trying to sell the last of his goods before packing up his stall and heading home.

They got three apple-tarts out of it, and Vio only managed one sweet, buttery bite before Red took over and ate the rest. Accidentally, of course.

Upon reaching the designated meeting spot, they found 'Rule and Wind. Red wasted no time running over and hugging them both in greeting.

"Where's everyone else?" Sky wondered, drawing up behind Red at a more relaxed pace and handing off the extra apple-tart to Wind, who accepted it with shining eyes.

"At the inn," 'Rule said, eyeing the treat Wind had been given. Perhaps sensing his gaze, Wind broke the pastry in two and passed 'Rule half.

"We volunteered to wait for you guys," Wind chirped proudly, swinging his feet. They didn't quite touch the ground. The lip of the fountain was a touch too high.

"Thank you! We would have gotten lost otherwise," Red exclaimed. He chose not to dwell on the notion too long. "Vio took_ forever_ in the book shop."

'Rule chuckled. "We heard. Legend complained about it plenty when he met up with us earlier."

"He didn't do it on purpose," Red mentioned, feeling as if he needed to defend Vio even though he knew the Hero of Hyrule wasn't faulting him for their tardiness. "Vio just gets excited about books."

"How'd you finally get him out, then?" Wind wondered. "Did you force your way out?"

"No. I don't know how to do that, and it'd be mean to anyway. Vio deserves to have fun, and I had fun earlier. Oh! Look what I got!" Red quickly opened his bag and rummaged through it until he found the purchase he'd made earlier. He pulled it out with a flourish and held it up for Wind to see.

Awe filled Wind's eyes, and he hopped off his fountain seat to get a better look. "Whoa! What kind of animal is it supposed to be?"

"At first I thought it was a fox, but I don't think so anymore because foxes only have one tail and this one has three."

"Weird," Wind observed, tilting his head to the side to get a good look at the three black tipped yellow tails sprouting out of the plushie's backside. "But cool." The sailor reached out to feel it and gasped. "It's like petting Wolfie!"

"I know right!" Red bounced a little on the balls of his feet, giddy.

Curious, 'Rule wandered over and pet the plush animal as well, confirming the toy's insane softness with his own amazed gasp. "It's like a cloud."

"Where did you get it?" Wind asked, suddenly turning serious.

"See? I told you we should have gotten one for everyone!" Red said, addressing Sky. He quickly turned back to Wind. "I got it at a toy shop-" His excitement died in his throat as he realized he didn't know where the toy shop was located. He rubbed the not-quite-fox's ears worriedly. "I don't remember where though..."

"We can look for it tomorrow," Sky piped up, his tone light. "Why don't we head to the inn? We don't want to make the others worry."

"Good idea. Knowing Time and Twilight, they're all ready to come searching," 'Rule said.

Laughing at their companion's overprotective tendencies, the four of them departed for the inn, Red, Wind, and 'Rule eagerly recounting their market experiences the whole way.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Slowly but surely, Blue began to warm up to the group. Legend had the honor of meeting him, on Blue's own terms, first—a fact the pants-less hero lorded over everyone else's heads. Blue didn't mind. In fact, he liked that Legend bragged about being able to talk with him when no one else could. Maybe that was why he took his time revealing himself to the rest of the group.

In any case, within a month Blue had become comfortable enough to joke and spar openly with both Legend and Warrior. He wouldn't wear the headband Red had sewed for him just yet, but he would occasionally loop it loosely around his wrist when he was feeling particularly confident.

Life was going pretty well, all things considered, which is why it shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone when things took a turn for the worse.

The switch came like so many did: suddenly. Except this was different. Red wasn't nudged or pushed or even shoved into control. He was slammed, like a door shut by a furious hand.

The roughness of the switch wasn't what tipped Red off that something was wrong. It was the burning. It crept all over his body like so many spiders sinking their mandibles into his flesh and poisoning him. Only this poison was different. Instead of paralyzing him outright, it turned his blood to lava. He could feel it bubbling beneath his skin, threatening to melt the flesh from his bones.

An involuntary scream tore from his throat, halting the heroes in front of him, but Red couldn't focus on their questioning shouts or half-drawn swords. He was too occupied attempting to douse the fire scorching his every pore. Only there were no flames to douse. Not even a spark.

The Hero of Winds reached him first, dropping his half-drawn sword in favor of grabbing Red's arms, eyes frantically searching his face for an explanation he didn't have. "What's wrong? Are you hurt? Are the others fighting?"

I don't know and yes and no jumbled in his brain, and it was all Red could do to shake his head vehemently before the pain forced him to his knees. Wind went down with him, gripping his upper arms uncertainly. Each touch was a fresh wave of fire.

"Itburnsitburnsitburnsitburns!" Red sobbed, his voice hitching and cracking in hysterics.

Wind answered his cry for help with a hopelessly puzzled expression. "What?"

"He said 'it burns'," Twi translated, sheathing his sword and pushing past the others to kneel beside him. "What burns?"

"Eh-eh-every-ev-" It was just one word, but Red couldn't get it out. His chest was too heavy, his throat too tight.

"Wind, you were closest. What happened?" Time demanded.

"I don't know! He was fine a second ago."

A second ago wasn't now. Now he was burning from the inside out. He'd been tossed into a volcano or maybe he _was_ the volcano.

He raised his hands to rub the tears out of his eyes. Maybe if he got rid of those the pain would lessen. Blue always said crying never solved anything. But the Hero of Twilight foiled his plans, catching his hands and pulling them away from his face. Red attempted to retract them, but Twi held firm.

"Twiiii!" Red cried, tears flooding down his face faster. "L-Let go! It hu-hurts."

"Wait, there's something on your hands." The older hero's words drew Red's attention to the backs of his hands and even though his vision was nothing but blots of color he could plainly see that they were red. They weren't supposed to be red.

"What's that?" 'Rule asked, leaning in closer to get a better look.

"Kinda looks like sunburn," Wind observed as Twi and 'Rule did their best to carefully inspect his skin.

"No, it doesn't," Legend refuted. "It looks like some kind of rash."

"Poison ivy?" Wild guessed.

"Poison ivy itches," Twi said. "It doesn't burn."

"It can if you scratch it enough."

"He wasn't scratching."

"How do you know? He's been towards the back of the group all day and you've been at the front."

'Rule removed Red's right bracer and sucked in a breath. "Eesh. It goes all the way up his arm."

"Maybe instead of gawking at it, heal it, 'Rule," Legend snapped, raising his voice to be heard over Red's crying.

"Uh, yeah. Right." The golden glow of 'Rule's magic filled his vision but his pains weren't soothed. If anything, they intensified.

"StopstopstopSTOP!" Red wailed, jerking his arm to his chest and cradling it. He wanted to switch. To step back and let one of the others take control. Not that he wanted them to be in pain. No. Never. But they could handle it much better than he could.

As if sensing his wishes, Blue's voice filled his head. _"What's going on?"_

"I don't know!" Red tried to shout but choked on tears.

"_Red?" _Green's concern made his heart ache.

"Did you touch something?" Twi asked.

Red shook his head. He didn't care what it was. He just wanted it to stop.

"_What happened?"_ Vio wondered.

"_No idea, but Red's freaking out,"_ Blue answered for him.

"Did one of the others touch something?" Why all the questions? Why didn't they help him already? Surely his skin was melting off by now!

"_No," _Green replied.

"_I didn't touch anything,"_ Blue reported.

"_Neither did I,"_ Vio said.

Heaving for breath, Red answered with another shake of his head.

"Are you allergic to anything?" This question came from 'Rule.

"_Bell peppers. Green ones in particular,"_ Green supplied.

It took some time for him to choke out the words but he eventually did and Twi translated for him. "Green peppers. Have you had any?"

"Nuh-no!" he cried. All of them knew better than to ingest green peppers. The body was allergic. Red knew it couldn't be that anyway. The allergen had never produced a reaction like this.

"_Stop crying. I can't see."_ Blue said irritably, though Red heard the concern laced in his words.

"_He's in pain, Blue. He can't help it,"_ Green admonished.

"_Yeah, well if I can see what's going on then maybe we can figure out what it is and help."_

Red went to rub his eyes, hoping to clear them for a few seconds, but once again, Twi stopped him. "No, no, don't touch your eyes."

"It's already on his face," Legend said.

"Yes, but I don't want him to spread it to his eyes if it's contagious," Twi replied as several of the others asked "Where?" and Legend pointed it out. The redness on his face must have been less severe if not all of them had noticed it. That was good, right?

"If it's contagious all of three of you are in trouble," Warrior noted.

"None of us are screaming yet." Gingerly, Twi dabbed at Red's eyes with a handkerchief. "Better?"

It was but he could already feel the dam filling up again so he didn't waste time replying. Instead, he looked down at his arm and immediately wished he hadn't. His skin was an angry red, blotchy, and speckled with raised welts.

Blue swore. _"What is that?!"_

"_Hives,"_ Vio said. _"Hyrule might not have been far off with the allergy theory."_

"_But we didn't eat any green peppers!"_ Green argued.

"_Maybe we're allergic to something else?"_

"_Like what?"_

Vio didn't have an answer to that.

Red was glad when his eyes filled with tears again. He didn't want to see the horror his skin had become.

"Will a potion help?" Sky ventured after a moment.

Normally, Red made faces at potions but not this time. He just wanted to stop hurting. The bitter-tasting liquid stung his throat as it went down but it was welcome if it stopped the pain.

A minute passed and while the potion didn't take away the burning sensation coursing through his body, it didn't make it any worse either.

"Magic doesn't work. Potions don't work…any other ideas?" 'Rule asked, glancing around the group.

"Ice?" Legend proposed.

"You don't put ice on burns!" Warrior objected, aghast.

"It's not a burn," Legend retorted. "He keeps saying 'it burns' so maybe it'd be beneficial to have something cold on it."

"That's just going to make it worse."

"How do you know?"

"Because that's not how you treat burns!"

"It's not a burn!"

"You don't know that!"

"You don't know that it isn't!"

"How about water?" Time interjected, pulling out his waterskin and ignoring the squabbling of Legend and Warrior. "Perhaps that will help."

It did not. His body remained on fire, and now Red was convinced there were fire ants marching underneath his skin too. It itched.

He began to scratch and the action didn't go unnoticed by 'Rule or Twi.

"Does it itch?" 'Rule asked as Twi caught his hand.

"_Yes_," he whined. It itched. It burned. It was torture, and he couldn't take much more. He squirmed uncomfortably, wishing to claw his arm off. It would hurt less then, surely.

Unfortunately, Twi ensured he never got a chance, knocking his hand away every time he tried.

"What about aloe vera?" Wind suggested after another minute or so filled with Legend's and Warrior's yelling and his and Twi's pathetic battle.

"What's that?" Sky wondered.

"It's a plant." Wind and Wild answered at the same time. Wild allowed Wind to explain. "You can use the leaves to soothe burns or wounds that just hurt really bad."

That sounded like exactly what he needed.

'Rule perked up, likely thinking the same. "Do you have some?"

"…No," Wind admitted dejectedly.

"I can find some!" Wild piped up, tapping at his slate with determination.

"Good. Go," Time ordered. "Don't get lost. Warrior, go with him."

The two soldiers ran into the woods before Red could so much as blink. He believed that they would find the plant Wind had mentioned but he didn't believe he could hold out long enough. His body seemed to burn more with every second that passed.

Green spoke up, attempting to reassure him. _"It's okay, Red. We're here. Wild and Warrior will be back soon with something to help." _The 'I hope' went unsaid, but Red still felt it. He couldn't wait that long.

"I-I wanna switch." He grabbed 'Rule's hand. At least, he thought it was 'Rule's. It was hard to tell who he was grasping for with his vision so blurry. "Help us switch."

"_I'll take your place," _Vio offered.

"Is it okay with everyone else?" Twi asked.

"_You?!" _Blue exclaimed. _"No way!"_

"Who cares?" Legend said. "He…"

"_Let me take over."_

"—ndle it. Letting one of the others…"

"_I can handle it way better than any of you."_

"I just want to make sure."

"_That may be true but if anything was going to make you gain control, it has already happened," _Vio said.

"—on't want to make anyone mad."

"_Red's in distress and the body is hurt, possibly in danger, yet you're still here." _

"Noble of you…"

"_Forcing you out will be difficult."_

"…ly the time."

"_No one has to force me; I'm willing!" _Blue retorted.

"-o are we triggering out?"

"_I don't doubt it. Unfortunately, 'willing' has nothing to do with it," _Vio said, calm and collected as always._ "The fact of the matter is, your biggest trigger hasn't triggered you into control. A smaller one will have no effect."_

"_Blue, let Vio do it," _Green spoke up._ "For Red's sake, we need to switch as fast as possible."_

"Red!" His name snapped his head up to meet Legend's questioning gaze. "Who are we triggering?"

"Is it okay with the others?" Twi asked.

He looked hopelessly between the two of them, head swimming with pain and words. So many words. Everyone had been talking over each other. Usually he could follow it, but not when he was on fire.

Thankfully, Green caught on to his disorientation. _"It's okay with everyone. We're going to get Vio to switch with you."_

"V-Vio." Red nodded sloppily, fumbling for his bag, but Wind already had it covered, pulling out one of the thick tomes Vio had purchased at Castle Town weeks ago. He handed it to Red, who took it and flipped to a random page. Blurry blobs of ink swam in his vision.

He wiped his eyes with the cloth Twi had given him, and a line of nonsensical symbols appeared. Red did his best to focus on them, to lose himself in them like he imagined Vio often lost himself in them, but the fire raging through him was too much. The tears returned to his eyes and a fresh sob ripped from his throat.

The book wasn't working. He could _feel_ Vio there. Could hear him as he told him to _keep looking at the book I almost have it_. But that was a lie. There was a pulsing pressure in his temples. Forward and back. Ebb and flow like the tide coming in and out of shore. And like the tide, it could only come so close. Only touch the shore so much.

It wasn't enough.

"It-It's no-n-not working!" Red wailed, his voice cracking and breaking.

"Here, let me try something else," Legend said, scooping up the book from Red's lap. "Watch me."

Wiping at his eyes, Red raised his head. Upon meeting his eyes, Legend gave a curt nod and wound his arm back. "Head's up, Sky!"

"_DON'T-!"_ Vio shouted, but it was too late. Legend had already chucked the book at the Chosen Hero who was just as unprepared for it as everyone else and barely managed to stop the tome from smashing into this face. The book fell to the dirt with a thud.

"Well? Did it work?" Legend asked, whirling around to face Red and completely indifferent to the fact that he'd nearly broken Sky's nose with his stunt.

"No!" Red cried, choking on a sob and coughing. Wind idly petted his hair in an attempt to comfort him while 'Rule scooted closer to gently rub his back. Red barely felt any of it. The itchy burning all over his body took precedence over any other sensation.

"Well, I'm out of ideas," the Hero of Legend declared. "Anyone else want to have a go?"

"_Don't throw books, especially mine!"_

"_You have to admit it was a good idea," _Blue mentioned.

"_No it wasn't!" _Vio disagreed. _"And more importantly, why can't we switch? That should have triggered me into the front."_

"_Maybe it's similar to what happened when we were recovering from our concussion?"_ Green suggested.

"_I don't see how that's possible. That was a head injury. This isn't."_

The voices in his head continued to go back and forth on the matter, but Red didn't have to pay attention to them to come to the same conclusion. He was stuck.

If he could have, he would have sobbed harder. As it was, he could only plead and even that was limited due to his crying. "mAkE IT StOp! MaKE it StoP! _Please _MAKe I-it sTop!" He clung to Wind, shaking.

"We're trying, we're trying," Wind soothed, sounding frazzled himself.

"We can't wait for Wild and Warrior to get back," Time said. "There has to be something else we can try."

"The spirit springs in my Hyrule have healing properties." He heard Twi say.

"Well, why didn't you mention that earlier?!" Legend demanded.

"Because it's magic water, and 'Rule's magic seemed to hurt him more," Twi snapped.

"I say it's worth a shot," Time declared. "Are there any nearby?"

"Two," Twi said, rising. "I'll take him ahead on Epona. It'll take half an hour otherwise. I'll leave you guys with a map, but it's pretty straight forward. Just follow the path."

"What if it doesn't work?" 'Rule worried. He had stopped rubbing Red's back once he realized the action wasn't helping. Red was only mildly grateful. His friend's touch had burned, but it had also relieved a tiny bit of the itching.

"Then we hope Wild and Warrior can find that plant." Legend answered.

"If they can't then we need another plan," Sky said. "Twi is there a doctor around here?"

Twi tugged Red to his feet, and he swayed. His legs _burned._ Everything burned but standing was suddenly worse. Fortunately, he didn't have to stand for long. Twi swept him up and placed him atop Epona's back.

"Twi?" Sky repeated.

The Ordonian sighed as he swung up into the saddle behind Red. "The closest is a full day's ride away, and I don't exactly trust him."

"Trust him or not—"

"I know," Twi cut Time off. "Let's just…cross that bridge when we come to it." Twi said something else, instructions by the sound of his tone, before snapping the reigns and sending Epona rushing forward through the sun-dappled forest.

Cool wind whipped at his face but it provided no relief. He whimpered, turning his face aside into Twi's chest. A strong arm wrapped around him and words of comfort floated into his ears, both from the hero holding him and from the heroes sharing his body, but they had little effect.

Words held no power to take pain away. In that moment, as his head swam and body burned, Red became certain he was dying. He didn't want to. Not yet. Not ever!

Terror tied knots in his stomach and made his limbs shake or maybe that was just the motion of the horse beneath him. Either way, he pressed closer to the Hero of Twilight, silently begging for him to save him. To save _them _because if one of them died, they all did.

It took an eternity and a day before he noticed anything else besides the flames crawling over and under his skin. He thought he'd appreciate a change. But when the sturdy warmth of Twi deserted him, he immediately flailed, rubbing his blurry eyes and sitting up straighter on Epona so as not to fall off.

"Twi?" he croaked, panic mounting and sticking in his throat as he swiveled this way and that, searching for his missing companion.

"I'm right here," Twi reassured him, appearing at his left. Twi held out his arms, and Red all but leapt off the horse before Twi could lift him off, clamping his arms tight around the elder hero's neck.

His companion hugged him close. "It's okay. The water will make you feel better."

Twi didn't know that for sure. Red knew that. Twi knew that he knew that. But as he buried his face in the pelt wrapped around the young man's shoulders, Red chose to believe that Twi's words were true. That the magic water would work. It had to.

It _had _to.

He felt it as Twi carried him into the spring. Heard it, too, as he splashed into the water.

Twi knelt down so that Red could sit semi-comfortably in his lap. The toes of his boots dipped into the shallow water. "Give me your arm."

Trying to convince himself that complying would stop the agony he was in, Red loosened his grip and held out his arm.

Through wavering vision, Red watched as Twi cupped water in his free hand and let it trickle over the body's inflamed appendage. It didn't burn. Or rather, it didn't burn any more than it was already burning.

But it didn't provide relief either.

Five more handfuls and still no change. Red pulled his arm away as Twi went to dump another round on his arm.

"Does it hurt more?"

He shook his head. It just hurt. It hurt and it shouldn't because the water was supposed to make it better! Why wasn't it making it better?!

"Does it hurt any less?" Twi asked next, though his tone implied he already knew the answer before Red shook his head.

Twi stood, then, adjusting Red so he didn't fall. "We're going to my house, okay?"

Red just tightened his grip on Twi in response. He didn't care where they went. So long as he wasn't alone. He couldn't take being alone. Not like this. Not when he was dying.

Because he had to be dying, right? Only dying could hurt this bad. Only dying itched and burned all at once. Only dying couldn't be cured by sacred healing springs.

These thoughts took precedence over all others as they raced through the woods atop Epona. Distantly, he was aware of Twi talking to him. Blue, Vio, and Green too. They were all trying to distract him, to encourage him that he was _doing great!_ And _you'll feel better soon _and _everything's okay—_which was probably the biggest lie of them all.

Ironically enough, that was the lie they repeated the most. _It's okay. You're okay. We're fine. Nothing's wrong._ Except everything, of course. But forget about that last part because _everything's okay._

"Tell that to the body!"Red wanted to scream and would have if the waterworks weren't clogging his throat. Tell that to the many-legged creatures marching beneath his skin, to the lava that pumped through his veins in place of blood. To the tears that refused to stop falling.

If he was okay and nothing was wrong then why was he in agony?

The question went unspoken, but even if it hadn't Red knew no one would have been able to answer it. No one knew what was wrong so it was best to pretend that nothing was wrong.

He was willing to try anything at this point and as they came to a stop and Twi carried him inside his treehouse, Red decided to do exactly that.

Play pretend.

To his astonishment, it worked. Not right away, of course, but by the time Twi had lit the fireplace and situated himself on the floor with Red in his lap—because Red pleaded with him not to leave him, not even to grab blankets and pillows—the fire raging through his veins had eased.

It was still blazing, sure, but not as brightly as before. Or maybe that was just his imagination?

In any case, the slight reprieve allowed him to breathe a little easier.

Twi noticed. "Are you feeling any better?"

Not wanting to jinx it, Red gave a miniscule nod in reply. It seemed to have worked. As minute by excruciating minute ticked by, the burning sensation gradually leached from his limbs, leaving behind a buzz that was more itch than anything.

He fidgeted, attempting to scratch at the irritated skin, but Twi stopped him. "Don't. You'll hurt yourself more."

"But it itches," he whined. It seemed like a small thing to be whining about compared to the burning sensation from before but he couldn't help it. Discomfort was discomfort.

"I know," Twi said, but Red didn't think he did despite the sympathy in his voice. The Ordonian hummed in thought for a second before perking up. "I have an idea. Can I have your bag for a second?"

Red gave his consent, and in less than a minute Twi had pulled out his plushie from his bag.

"Kea…" He sniffed, grabbing for the toy. Time had identified it as a mysterious creature called a Keaton, hence its name.

Twi handed the yellow Keaton plush to him with a small smile. "When you want to scratch, scratch at Kea. Or rub him. Your choice."

"That's not going to make me itch any less." Red hiccupped, wiping at his eyes. The tears took a little longer to flood back this time.

"No," Twi agreed. "But it's better than scratching yourself raw."

Red couldn't deny that and did as the elder boy suggested, alternating between scratching and rubbing and squeezing Kea depending on how intense the itch became.

He didn't know when the others arrived, only that when they did he was on the cusp of sleep so he was only able to grasp the gist of their conversation. No plant. Something about water. Better? He didn't really know. He didn't care. He was tired.

Feeling warm and cozy and only slightly itchy, Red drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Indistinct chatter met his ears and he rolled over, burying his face into the pillow beneath him with a small groan. He wasn't ready to wake up yet. Unfortunately for Green, moving had solidified his wakefulness.

Even if it hadn't, the hand that came to rest on his shoulder would have finished the job.

Slowly, Green cracked open his eyes. Flickering firelight illuminating an unfamiliar abode greeted him, and when he tilted his head back, he found himself locking eyes with Sky.

Sky seemed just as surprised about this as Green. However, he recovered quickly. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Green answered automatically. Only after he said it did he realize it was true. Yes, his face felt sticky and gross and his throat was a little sore, but he didn't feel like death. Which made zero sense. After all the screaming and crying Red had done, Green was positive that the body was in horrible shape. They had to be seriously injured or sick or a combination of the two. Red wouldn't cry like that for no reason and—okay—maybe Red did have a tendency to cry a lot but there was always a _reason_ for it.

As Green shifted to sit up, blinking the blurriness out of his eyes and becoming mildly puzzled at the plush that fell into his lap, he noted that nothing ached. Except his head, of course, but he'd resigned himself to that fate long ago. He checked his hands and even rolled up his sleeves but there was no blemish on his skin. In fact, there wasn't any indication that there had ever been one. Maybe the flashes of memory in his head had just been a horrible dream that was now posing as a false memory?

"Four!" Wind exclaimed, shooting over and dropping onto his knees to hug him. Definitely not a dream, then. "You're awake!" Wind quickly pulled back and rounded on Sky. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to overwhelm him. He just woke up," Sky replied as everyone else abandoned whatever they'd been doing before and drifted closer, differing levels of concern etched on their faces.

Green greeted them with a small wave.

Legend was less than impressed. "Mind explaining what that was?"

Ah. That was going to be a problem, seeing as Green had no idea.

"Maybe we should ask if he's okay first, don't you think?" Warrior said, elbowing Legend in the side. Legend elbowed him back.

"Are you okay?" Hyrule asked, taking Warrior's advice since the captain himself was currently in the middle of a mini elbowing war with Legend.

"Yes," Green answered, moving aside Red's Keaton plush. He'd have to put it away so it didn't get damaged. "I'm perfectly fine."

"Is Red?" Wind worried.

Taking a moment to assess, Green noticed the excitement fluttering in his chest. "I think so." He'd expected relief to be among the chief emotions running through his head mates at the moment, but excitement wasn't unwarranted either, he supposed.

"You're Green?" Sky double checked.

He smiled, pleased that Sky could tell. "Yes."

"_Now _do you mind explaining what that was?" Legend said, shoving Warrior so hard the man stumbled. The Hero of Legend was only spared from the captain's rebuttal by the withering glare Time shot them both. It was incredible how well a man with one-eye could glare.

"I don't know," Green admitted.

"You don't get to say 'I don't know' after all that screaming."

"Legend, enough," Time interjected. "Green, do you remember what happened?"

"I think so." He began slowly, staring at the ground in thought. "There was a rash on our skin. It was painful which is why Red was screaming and crying. We tried to force a switch, but it didn't work. You guys were trying a bunch of different things to help us, but none of them were doing anything. …What ended up working?" He didn't remember that part.

"The spring water," Twilight informed him, drawing Green's gaze. The ranch hand offered him an apologetic smile. "It was belated, but it did work."

That was good to know for the future, presuming it happened again, which Green desperately hoped it wouldn't.

"That doesn't explain what it was," Legend said, arms crossed tightly over his chest.

"He just said he doesn't know," Twilight shot back, sending a glare of his own at Legend who appeared as if he could care less.

"I heard him just fine, country boy," Legend returned. "But we better figure it out because I doubt any of us wants a repeat of _that_."

"You had to have touched something," 'Rule spoke up, his eyes on Green. "A plant or-"

"It wasn't anything contagious," Twilight interrupted with a shake of his head. "It didn't spread to us."

"Vio said it looked like hives," Green recalled, "so it was an allergic reaction to something."

"So you touched something you were allergic to," 'Rule surmised.

"But that's the thing! I'm not allergic to anything besides bell peppers and only the green ones will make me break out in hives like that. Even then, the allergic reaction isn't _that _bad. It doesn't burn."

"You must be allergic to something else," Wind said.

"To what, though?"

"Who was out before Red?" Time asked.

Green opened his mouth to reply, "I was" but quickly snapped it shut. That wasn't true. His memory was hazy, due only in part to the tears that had constantly obscured Red's vision, but Green was certain that they had been surrounded by trees. The trees of Faron Woods. Their destination. Or at least a step on their journey to Twi's home which is where he presumed they were now.

In any case, when he had been in control last they were in Hyrule Field, a good mile away from the entrance to the woods.

"Were we already in the woods when it happened or did you move us there?" Green asked, giving his fellow heroes pause as they grappled to catch up with his thought process.

Twilight managed it first. "We were already in Faron Woods."

Right. That confirmed it, then. Green hadn't been out before Red came to screaming. So that begged the question: who was?

"_Green!"_ Red exclaimed. _"You won't_ believe_-!"_

"Red, who was out before you?" Green asked, lowering his voice and frowning at the floorboards. He knew the other heroes could hear him anyway. Hylian ears picked up whispers fairly easily, and if the legends were to be believed, they could even hear the voices of the gods. Even so, it seemed wrong to talk with the voices in one's head at a normal decibel. That just spelled crazy.

Red's excitement deflated slightly, like a balloon with a hole in it. _"Huh?"_

Blue and Vio slipped in, but he ignored them. "Before you came out in pain, who was in control?"

Red was quiet for a moment before replying. _"You were."_

"No, I wasn't."

"_It wasn't me,"_ Blue claimed.

"_Nor me,"_ Vio added.

"It had to be one of you," Green argued, his heart thudding in his chest because how did they get in the forest if none of them walked there? "Blue, I swear if you're messing with me-"

"_I'm not messing with you!"_

"You always do. You constantly pretend to be me." His heart was beating as rapidly as a rabbit's now, desperate to escape his chest and run until the world made sense again.

"_I_ wasn't," Blue swore. _"I swear on Father's life. I haven't been out since that monster ambush last night."_

"Vio?" Green asked, but it was more of a plea. A plea to tell him what he wanted to hear. That Vio had been out and had walked them the last mile to the woods and nothing was amiss.

"_I haven't been out all day."_

"It's okay if you don't remember," Sky said gently as he slipped a comforting arm around Green shoulders.

Green quickly shrugged him off. "No! I do remember it's just…I don't know who got us into the woods. We weren't there yet when I was out."

"Then either Blue or Vio took over," Warrior decided.

"Except they didn't," Green countered, sickness settling like a stone in his stomach.

"Maybe you just spaced out?" Sky suggested. "Happens to me sometimes when we've been walking for a long time."

He furrowed his brow. It didn't feel right, but he couldn't write the notion off either. "Maybe…"

"You were kind of quiet as we got closer to the woods," Wind recounted.

"_That solves it then,"_ Vio declared with confidence. _"You zoned out for a while, Green."_

Hyrule came to a similar conclusion. "Sky must be right, then. You spaced out and touched a plant you were allergic to or something."

Green was more inclined to go with 'or something'.

"Don't touch anything in the woods from now on," Time said. "Not even to collect firewood."

Deciding it was a fair enough restriction considering they had no idea what set off the allergic reaction in the first place, Green nodded.

"_Aww!" _Disappointment swept inside his chest, frigid and hollow. _"What about the Forest Minish? Can't we touch them?"_

"_I'm sure touching the Minish is acceptable,"_ Vio reassured Red.

"_No way! I agree with Time. No touching anything in any forested areas."_

"Anyway," Wild spoke up, drawing Green's attention. "Are you hungry?"

Legend rolled his eyes dramatically. "You and food."

"What? He missed dinner!" Wild shot back defensively. "I don't want him to starve."

Time clapped a hand on Wild's shoulder, chuckling. "There's no danger of that with you around."

Grinning, Wild turned back to Green. "So?"

He returned the smile, ignoring the squabbling of the voices in his head with practiced ease. "Food sounds wonderful."

"I'll go heat it up for you." With that, their resident cook hurried away to prepare his food.

Green excused himself to go wash his face, and by the time he was done, Wild had finished heating the meat and mushroom skewer that he'd saved for him. The food was delicious as always. Unfortunately, Green couldn't properly enjoy it. Too many distractions wriggled in his mind.

The excitement from earlier had returned with a vengeance, and it was making his stomach do flips.

"_Can I tell him now?"_ Green could practically feel Red bouncing up and down in his head. _"Please please please?"_

Tell him what?

"_Go ahead,"_ Vio consented, a hint of smile in his voice as if he was excited too. Excited about what, Green had no idea. Vio rarely got excited, and when he did it was usually because of books. There weren't any books around, though.

Before Green could puzzle over it too long, Red exclaimed, _"There's a whole world in here!"_

Green nearly choked on his skewer. Warrior glanced over from where he was polishing his armor. "You good?"

"Went down wrong," he croaked out, thumping his chest and clearing his throat of the shock that was blocking it.

What did Red mean "there's a whole world in here?" There's a whole world in their head? Since when? Last time he checked, it was just a black void of nothing.

"_Don't just come out and say it like that_," Blue grumbled. _"You nearly made Green choke and die."_

"_Did not,"_ Red retorted, his excitement dimming a little before brightening once more. _"Anyway, Green, it's amazing! You have to see it! There's a super big tree in the middle and there's a house and a sanctuary—that's where we are now and—"_

"_Let's not overwhelm him with all that just yet, Red," _Vio interjected, for which Green was grateful. He could barely keep up. A tree? A house? Sanctuary? What sanctuary? _"It's difficult for me to wrap my head around while here. It must be even harder for Green who hasn't seen it yet."_

Green wasn't even sure he wanted to see it. All of this was happening too fast, and it was strange besides. They have an allergic reaction to…something and then he wakes up and suddenly their head is filled to burst with a world of its own? It didn't make sense.

Holding his half-eaten skewer between his teeth, Green reached over to grab his bag, rifling through it until he located their journal. Finding a blank page was getting harder and harder. Not only was it filled with fragments of conversations and notes, but Red had taken to doodling. It wouldn't be an issue if they had purchased another journal on their last supply run. However, with all the switching, it had slipped his mind.

Thankfully, there were quite a few pages left. That would suffice for now. His brothers patiently waited—for the most part—while he looked for a writing utensil. Once he found one, Green wasted no time in jotting down his thoughts on the matter. "How do we have a world in our head?"

"_No clue!" _Red chirped happily.

"_I'm not sure either," _Vio said._ "We didn't have it before Red fell asleep earlier. Something had to happen between now and then…"_

"_Whatever it was, I wouldn't say it's a bad thing," _Blue added.

"_Definitely not!" _Red agreed._ "We can see and interact with each other and there's lots of space." _

Lots of space meant there was an opportunity for them all to have an area to themselves. Green had to admit it sounded promising but… "It's unsettling."

"_How so?"_

"It just appeared. How? Why? I won't deny that it sounds useful but if it's really useful then why didn't we have it before?"

"_Perhaps we didn't need it then,"_ Vio suggested.

"_Yeah, right,"_ Blue scoffed. _"I agree with Green. This is suspicious. Do you know how much it would have benefited us to be able to walk away from fights? I don't believe that we didn't need it before."_

"_I don't see why it matters so much," _Red piped up._ "It's here now and it's great!_

"_It matters because what if it's dangerous?" _Blue shot back.

"Exactly. And that raises the question: if it appeared, can it disappear?" Green added.

"_Seems pretty solid to me," _Red claimed.

"_Yes, but Green makes a fair point,"_ Vio said, his prior excitement no more than a dull hum. _"This could be temporary."_

"_Nooo!"_ Red wailed. _"I don't want it to disappear! I like it here. I like being able to see and touch you guys again."_

"_It might not disappear," _Blue pointed out in an attempt to make Red feel better.

"_I hope it doesn't."_

Was Green wrong for hoping it did?

"_There's so much to explore still,"_ Red continued eagerly. _"Green, I want you to see it too!"_

Before Green could reply that he really didn't want any part of it, a pressure pulled at his temples, forcing him to drop his pencil in favor of massaging his aching head. He didn't dare let the dinner Wild had worked so hard on hit the ground.

The world wavered around him, and he slapped his free hand down on the floor so as not to fall over.

"_Red! Don't do that!"_ Blue admonished.

"_Sorry,"_ Red apologized, shrinking back. His headache abated a tiny bit. _"I thought I could force it."_

"_Well you can't, so stop it. He'll see it later."_

Disappointment was palpable in his chest, but Green knew it wasn't his own.

"—kay?"

"Hmm?" Green hummed in confusion, raising his head to see Wind, a look of concern on his face."

"I asked if you were okay," Wind repeated quietly.

Green tried to smile, but it came out looking more like a grimace. "I'm fine. Headache."

Wind nodded, a look of sympathy crossing his features, before going back to what he was doing. Drawing a picture for his little sister, by the looks of it.

The presence of his brothers faded as he finished his meal. First, it was Red and Blue, then Vio after he explained that the other two had gone off to explore.

Part of Green didn't want them going anywhere. The peace and quiet was nice, but he didn't trust this supposed world in his head. Unfortunately, there was little he could do to stop them.

* * *

Red shrieked with joy as he was launched into the air for what must have been the fifth or sixth time.

"If you keep playing on those, you'll never make it to the top," Blue called down to his red-clad brother from his position on a branch high above.

"I can't help it! It's fun!" Red giggled as he landed on the giant, spotted mushroom once more, bouncing upon impact.

"You can use them to bounce up," Vio suggested, wrapping an arm around a sturdy branch so he could use his other hand to point. "They wind around the tree's trunk."

It hadn't taken long to come to the unanimous decision to climb the giant tree that rested in the center of the grassy land. The tree itself was just like the ones they'd climbed with Zelda when they were little and whole. Except this tree was enormous, as if they had all reverted to Minish size. That wasn't the case, as Vio had been quick to point out, since the sanctuary behind them remained regular-sized. It was only around the tree that the world seemed to become more fantastical.

Colorful, spotted mushrooms dotted its base, continuing upward at regular intervals, and as Red had quickly discovered, the fungi were incredibly bouncy. Even the grass seemed to grow taller here, stalks of green waving over their heads like willowy, boneless trees.

Taking Vio's suggestion, Red angled himself towards a mushroom growing out of the tree and used the inherent bounciness of the toadstool beneath him to jump high enough to reach the next.

"It's going to take ages to climb this thing," Vio observed as he heaved himself up another branch. He referred to it as a branch but it was more of a twig from the tree's perspective.

"Less complaining, more climbing," Blue said, taking his own advice and doing just that.

"I'm not complaining. I'm observing," Vio corrected him, continuing his own climb as Red came level with him, courtesy of a bouncy mushroom. Vio was willing to bet they weren't edible. Did they even need to eat in this world? Probably not.

The climb did not take ages as Vio had predicted. It did, however, take quite a while, and they were all out of breath from climbing and laughing when they finally reached the top. Nestled in the leafy canopy, the three of them had to part the veiny foliage like curtains in order to see past them. They were welcomed by a breathtaking view once they did.

The world stretched below them, large and impossibly green. From up here it was possible to imagine themselves as members of the Picori race.

A crystal clear lake dominated one side, the sunlight winking on its calm surface, making it especially beautiful.

"Look, there's the sanctuary!" Red pointed out. "It looks so tiny from up here."

Blue rolled his eyes. "Everything looks tiny from up here."

"Yeah but…" Red trailed off, his attention swiftly captured by more sights. "Look! There's the house. I wonder what it looks like inside."

"We should check that out next," Vio proposed, and Red nodded eagerly.

"There's another building over there," Blue announced, causing Red and Vio to flock to his side in order to see. Indeed, there was a building. It was a fair distance from the house, closer to the misty mountains. None of them could tell what the building was. Another house, perhaps?

No one figured it out before the mountains stole their attention. Large and imposing, the jagged peaks seemed to puncture the bright blue sky like a warning. "Stay away," they seemed to say, and the rest of the world answered in kind. The vibrant green that covered the land appeared to fade into steely grey as it reached the mountains. It was an illusion, of course. The dense clouds of fog at the foot of the mountains muted all colors, altering the viewer's perception and creating a tense atmosphere instead of an inviting one.

"Spooky," Red commented. Vio and Blue agreed, shivers racing up all their spines as a chilly breeze ruffled the top of the tree.

If Vio didn't know any better, he'd say the mountains were trying to hide. It was a ridiculous thought, frankly. The mountains were too enormous to conceal themselves. Yet, looking at them, Vio could not shake the image of a cat puffing up to scare off predators. "I wonder what's over there."

"Not sure I want to know," Blue said.

"Why not? It's obviously part of the world. We should explore it," Vio insisted. If this world existed in their head, then surely they should be aware of everything it contained.

"It's not part of anything. It's a borderline, just like those trees over there and there and there," Blue objected, pointing out the thick forest surrounding the other three sides of the vast clearing.

"I suppose…" Vio frowned. He couldn't shake the niggling feeling that something was over there, and it was _important_. "But what if it is something? Something dangerous?" Of course, Vio didn't believe it was dangerous, but if anything was going to convince Blue to explore the area, it was a threat to their safety.

Judging by the way Blue's expression hardened, it worked. "If that the case, it'll have to be dealt with."

"Shall we go now?" Vio suggested.

"No…later. We'll check it out later," Blue decided, glancing at Red who looked thoroughly spooked. Vio didn't push after that.

"Let's go to the house," Red said hastily, turning his back on the mountains and searching for a safe way to descend the tree. "I think I could see a garden in the back of it too."

"A garden? Really?" Blue wondered, a smile coming back to his face.

"Yeah; come on!"

"Right behind you. Let's go, Vi."

With one last glance at the imposing stretch of mountains, Vio turned away and joined his brothers.

Coming down was much easier than going up once they figured out that they could freefall down to the mushrooms and let them cushion their fall. Red, in particular, was delighted by this. Even when they were on the ground, he insisted on skipping the entire way to the house as if the bounciness of the toadstools had been transferred to his body.

Upon arriving, the three of them took a moment to stare at the building in awe. It wasn't a castle by any stretch of the imagination but it was large, complete with an expansive porch and pillars. Yet, describing it as grand wasn't quite right. Grand was a structure of marble and glass. This was made of mostly wood, with the exception of the foundation which was comprised of beautiful, neutral-colored stones.

It was a cottage, Vio decided as he climbed the four steps after his brothers. A two-story cottage.

Red reached for the handle of the front door, but Blue slapped his hand away.

"You can't just waltz in! You don't know who lives here."

Guilt swept across Red's features.

"I think…we live here," Vio said, shouldering past the others and laying his hand on the smooth, wooden handle. With a small push, the door swung open and he was inside.

"How do you know?" Blue demanded, barging in after him with Red on his heels.

"Because this is our head!" Red answered. "Who else would live here, right?"

"Right," Vio agreed. "Besides, it feels like home."

As they stood in the entryway, taking in the fireplace set in the far wall, the couches and coffee table to the left, and the kitchen complete with a bar counter and stools to the right, none of them could deny it.

This was home.

Not their home in the real world, of course. That place was far smaller and looked nothing like this. But it was cozy just like their real home. It belonged to them.

And if there were any doubts as to who owned the abode, the quad-colored rug in front of the fireplace erased them quickly. Each of them had a square. Blue. Green. Vio. Red. Just like their tunic.

Reassured that they weren't trespassing, the trio closed the front door and delved deeper.

Down the short hall to the left was a staircase leading to the second floor, along with a door. They opted for the door, preferring to explore one floor at a time, and upon opening it, were greeted with a library. Vio, to put it lightly, was thrilled.

The library was quite large and housed shelves upon shelves of books. It even had a cushioned window seat with throw pillows on either side, making it a perfect reading nook. Vio immediately set to scouring the bookcases, curious as to what kinds of tomes they contained.

Uninterested in the library, Red and Blue continued through the room until they came across another door. Opening it led them outside into the flourishing garden Red had seen from above earlier. The optimistic hero was quick to exclaim over the pretty flowers and plants there, and while Blue wasn't as excited about the garden as Red, he did admit that it was peaceful.

The peace didn't last long, since Red was too excited for that and quickly dragged Blue and Vio upstairs where they found a washroom and their first locked door.

Red jiggled the handle, but it didn't budge. He pouted. "This one's locked."

"Let me see," Blue said, nudging Red out of the way.

He tried the handle, and it turned. Smirking at Red's inability to open a simple door, Blue entered the room. Red peered past his shoulder, as did Vio.

"Sweet. This is my room," Blue observed. Indeed, the walls were painted blue and all the furniture was a shade of blue. The floor, bedframe, and desk were the only exceptions. Or at least, they were the only exceptions Red and Vio could take note of before Blue shoved them out.

"Hey!" Red protested.

"It's my room," Blue offered by way of explanation.

"You're awfully possessive of a room you didn't even know was yours five seconds ago," Vio noted with a wry smile, arms crossed over his chest.

"Shut up!" Blue slammed the door and the rest of his retort floated, muffled, through the wood. "Go find your own rooms."

Vio and Red complied, darting across the hall to try the door across from Blue's. Opening it revealed green. Lots of green.

"Green's room!" Red chirped before closing the door.

They hurried to the next door. The room inside was bathed in purple and as Vio stepped inside to scope out his personal space, Red ran across the hall to the only door left.

He wasn't disappointed.

Behind this door was a room of red and fluff. Lots of fluff. The room was filled with plushies. They lined the shelves and lounged on the bed amidst a multitude of insanely soft throw pillows. Red instantly hopped on top of the bedspread and gathered as many of the stuffed creatures in his arms as he could. They were so soft!

"I love this place!" Red exclaimed, flopping back onto the mound of pillows.

That's when the sun winked out.

Red screamed, and Blue swore, and Vio reached out for his bed. His fingers brushed a soft quilt.

The world wasn't gone. With each blink, the darkness retreated a little, allowing Vio to see the moonlight seeping in through the windows. Peering outside, he could make out an inky sky, twinkling stars, and a brightly shining crescent moon. "It's okay," Vio called to the others. "It's just nighttime."

The creak of a door opening drew Vio into the hall where he nearly collided into Blue.

"What kind of night comes on that quickly?" Blue grumbled, strolling into Red's room. Red had yet to move from his bed and instantly dropped his stuffed animals, latching onto Blue when he was close enough.

"I don't like the dark," Red whimpered.

"Why don't we make it light?" Vio suggested.

"What are you going to do, Violet? Turn the sun back on?" Blue griped, adjusting himself so he was in a more comfortable position. Not that there really was a comfortable position when encased in one of Red's bone-crushing hugs, but trying never hurt anyone.

Vio rolled his eyes at Blue's scathing sarcasm, though he did briefly wonder if it was possible. "No. It's probably dark because Green is either trying to sleep or is asleep."

"Then wake him up!" Red exclaimed, panic pitching his voice higher than normal.

"I'd rather try something else first."

"And that would be?" Blue demanded.

"Making light," Vio held up a hand when Blue opened his mouth to protest. "This is our world right? It's in our head. What's stopping us from making things we want?"

Blue didn't buy it, but Red ate the notion up. Squeezing his eyes shut—because it was a darkness he could control—Red imagined lights like fairies appearing in his room and illuminating it with their glow. Chasing away the scary shadows and leaving only light.

A gasp and redness behind his closed eyelids encouraged him to open his eyes and see his creation. Strings of soft, orange lights were littered around the room, draped over the footboard and headboard of his bed and hanging from the ceiling like branches of a weeping willow.

He laughed, releasing Blue and standing up to brush one of the strings of lights with his fingers. They didn't look like anything that existed, which meant they could only be magic.

"You actually made lights," Blue said, dumbfounded.

"Yeah!" Red beamed. "Aren't they pretty?"

"Very." Vio smiled back, holding a lantern he had willed into existence.

"So that's it?" Blue wondered. "We can make anything we want?"

Vio shrugged. "Perhaps. I'm sure there are limitations, but this was simple enough. I just had to think about it and want it and-" He gestured to the shining lantern in his hand.

"Ooh! I wonder if I can make a pet. If I make a puppy can we keep it?"

"I doubt we can make living things," Blue commented, resting his cheek on his fist.

"Won't know 'till we try!"

"Why don't we try tomorrow?" Vio said before Red could get too carried away. "If I'm correct and Green is sleeping right now, it's probably best we turn in too."

Red made a disappointed sound but eventually nodded. "Yeah. Okay."

"Beats doing nothing," Blue decided, getting up and heading to his own room. Vio followed suit, bidding his brothers goodnight.

Settling into their beds should have been strange since it was a brand new place, and yet it wasn't. These beds were theirs. It was as if they had been sleeping in those beds their whole lives, and it didn't take long for any of them to fall asleep.

* * *

Green hadn't heard from his head mates since the night before so when Vio's voice filled his mind that morning, Green couldn't help but feel relieved. He'd been starting to think something had happened to them all.

The relief gradually waned as Vio reported, in much more detail than before, about what the world inside their head contained. Not that the things he described sounded _bad_, necessarily. It was just that going from having nothing to having enormous trees and houses and libraries and gardens and sanctuaries inside his head was more than a little overwhelming. The mountains, in particular, concerned him.

"Don't go exploring that area without me," Green mumbled under his breath as he got ready to head into the village proper with the other heroes. Their original intention had been to take a much needed break at Ordon Village for a while since their latest endeavor to figure out what was up with the monster's blood had failed spectacularly. Whatever had incapacitated them yesterday hadn't changed that plan.

"_I wasn't planning on it,"_ Vio assured him. _"Don't keep me waiting too long, though. I am curious."_

His stomach flipped at that. He'd barely had time to process this new information. The last thing he wanted was to be thrust into it. In fact, he hoped to hold it off for as long as possible.

A switch was inevitable, however. Honestly, Green really should have been expecting it when he agreed to help Twi with the goats, but a part of him had foolishly believed Red was too distracted inside to bother with the happenings outside. He was very wrong.

Which was why he currently found himself standing in the middle of the Four Sword Sanctuary, watching through the body's eyes as Red cooed at the baby goats and hopped around the barn with them and Wind, much to Twilight's amusement.

Of course, it wasn't the real Four Sword Sanctuary, though it was an impressive imitation. The trees and the statues and the cobblestones and the moss creeping over all of it was the same. Even the Four Sword in its pedestal was the same. However, the waterfall rushing down the back wall engraving and the small pond wrapping around the sanctuary was new. It wasn't a normal waterfall either. No image could be so crisp and clear through running water. Yet, the happenings in the outside world were as clear to him as if he were in control.

Red was in control now. He would know that even if he didn't pay attention to the images reflected by the impossibly clear waterfall or listen to the words that seemed to ring from the surrounding trees, for Red was in the sanctuary too. The crimson-clad hero knelt by the pedestal, hands wrapped around the hilt of the Four Sword and head bowed, like it was some kind of ceremony or something.

Green suddenly had a nagging feeling that when Red tried to take his place the previous night, he actually had been pulled. Pulled away from the sword. Green didn't want to know what would have happened if Red had succeeded.

Taking a deep breath and feeling weirded out by the way the fake air filled his lungs, Green turned on his heel and exited the sanctuary.

He immediately spotted the tree Red, Blue, and Vio had been exclaiming over. It was impossibly huge, and despite its girth, Green couldn't help but be reminded of the trees he'd climbed with Zelda once upon a time.

The urge to climb the tree and discover what was nestled at the top of its branches was strong, but Green resisted. Blue and Vio probably wouldn't be there. They'd be at the house, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't want to see them. He did. It wasn't them that unsettled him. It was this world.

It felt real and yet fake. Almost like a dream, only more tangible.

The trek to the cottage was uneventful and sure enough, when he entered the house, he found Blue and Vio lounging on the couches in the common room, playing cards in hand. They both looked up when he entered.

"Hey! It's about time you joined us," Blue greeted him with a smile. It was infectious. Green smiled back, closing the distance between them and wrapping both Blue and Vio up in a tight hug.

"What do you think of this place?" Vio asked as they broke the embrace.

"It's…strange," Green decided. "But it's nice to see you guys." And it was. He never thought he would be able to see or touch the others again.

"Are you up for a little exploring?" Blue wondered, tossing his cards on the coffee table.

Green found Blue's good mood rubbing off on him, and despite not being eager before, he was now. "Yes. Let's do it!"

His fellow Four Sword Heroes gave him a brief but thorough tour of the house and the garden out back before they set out for the mountains on the far side of the clearing.

"There's a forge over there," Blue said, pointing to a building in the distance. "It's stocked with tools and everything."

"Neat." The word was difficult to choke out. Ever since straying from the house, Green's head had been swimming.

Blue and Vio continued to tell him about the lake with fish in it and the great tree that he'd have to climb after this, but Green could barely pay attention to anything except not falling over. With each step, a new weight thumped onto his chest. Breathing grew difficult.

When the world around him dissolved into blurry blobs interspersed with black spots, Green stopped.

"Why'd you stop?" Blue asked, irritation creeping into his voice. "We have a ways to go yet."

"I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?" Blue demanded.

Could the others see clearly? Was it only him that felt faint? Felt his lungs constricting as they refused to take in false air? "I can't," Green gasped.

"What's wrong?" Vio placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I can't see right. Everything's blurry. I feel like I'm going to pass out."

"We're fine," Blue pointed out.

"Well, I'm not!" Green snapped. He didn't like this. He knew something was wrong with this place. It wasn't real, and it was unraveling before his very eyes. _He_ was unraveling.

"Okay," Vio said gently, taking his hand and turning him around. "Let's take a few steps back."

They did so, and with each step the weights lifted a little more and his vision grew a little clearer. Only when they reached the house did Green feel normal again.

"This makes no sense," Blue claimed, leaning back against the side of the house with his arms crossed irritably. "The rest of us can walk around just fine."

"Yes, but not every place is open to all of us. Take your room, for example. The door is locked for everyone but you," Vio countered. "This could be a similar case."

"So what do we do?"

"Let's see where he can go. What do you say, Green?"

He didn't really think he had a choice in the matter, so he nodded. "Sure."

They attempted to walk to the giant tree but the oppressive weight and dizziness struck Green not even halfway there. That meant the lake was out too. They attempted different routes, as if it was a fence with a board knocked loose. Unfortunately, no matter which angle they tried to approach it from, Green couldn't pass. Or rather, he couldn't pass without passing out, and he was adamant about it not getting to that point. No one knew what passing out would entail in this inside world, after all.

Soon, the three of them were back inside the house, curled up together on the couches.

"Does this mean we're calling off the mountain exploration?" Blue wanted to know.

"We could still go. Just without Green," Vio said, shooting Green an apologetic look.

"I'd rather you didn't," Green replied. "You all admitted that the mountains gave you the creeps. To me it seems like something that's best left alone, so just…leave it alone, alright?"

"Alright," Vio agreed.

Blue heaved a sigh. "Fine."

"Thank you." Green stood then. "I'm going back to the sanctuary. I don't like not knowing what's going on outside."

With that, Blue and Vio were left alone once again in the house.

Only when he was sure Green was back at the sanctuary did Blue speak. "We're not leaving it alone, are we?"

"Of course not," Vio returned without missing a beat.

They waited for Red, intent on taking their brother along so he didn't tattle to Green about what they were doing. Also because there was safety in numbers. Plus, if they went while Green was still inside with them, they risked him knowing. This way, they could go, check it out, and come back with Green none the wiser.

"I don't like this," Red whispered for what must have been the tenth time since they'd set out.

Neither Vio nor Blue shushed him this time, for they were starting to share his sentiment. The three heroes had reached the base of the mountain now. Shaded by the Great Tree, as Vio had dubbed it, the natural blockade of rock rose high above them, tall and imposing. A small nudge and the mountains could crumble and crush them.

Doing their best to think pleasant thoughts, they pressed on, lanterns and fire rod—in Red's case—raised to navigate their way through the fog. With each step, the visibility grew worse.

The lights weren't helping at all, so it was hardly a loss when they were extinguished by a strong wind. At least, in Vio's opinion. For Blue it was the last straw. "Nope. Let's stop. I hate this." Red agreed by attaching himself to Blue's arm and refusing to let go.

"Just a little farther," Vio insisted.

"We shouldn't even be here. Green said not to."

"Green said not to?!" Red squeaked, appalled. "Then why are we here?"

"Since when do you listen to Green?" Vio returned, ignoring Red and climbing over a rough rock.

"_I _don't, but _you_ usually do," Blue grunted, hurrying after him with Red in tow. "So let's turn back now."

"Wait." Vio couldn't explain it. He suspected—no—he _knew_ something was here. He wasn't leaving until he found it.

"No, you wait." Blue snagged Vio's sleeve and pulled him back. "This is dangerous."

"Weren't you the one that said if it's dangerous we needed to deal with it?" Vio fired back easily.

"No, I said if it's dangerous, it needs to be dealt with." Blue narrowed his eyes in a way Vio was sure his brother thought intimidating but really wasn't. "By me."

"You know, you're not the only one here that can fight," Vio said, tugging his arm free of Blue's hold.

"No, I'm the only one here that can fight _well_."

"Believe whatever you want." Vio turned on his heel, squeezing past two stones to reach a piece of rock that he could use to boost himself higher.

"We're not going any further," Blue said.

"Farther," Vio corrected him out of habit and a tiny bit of spite. "And you guys don't have to." He heaved himself onto the outcropping of rock above him. "I am, though."

"You're an idiot," Blue declared, following Vio against his better judgement. "You're an idiot who's going to get himself killed."

"I doubt death is possible here."

Blue fumbled for a retort but couldn't quite formulate one. After all, as real as this place felt, it wasn't real. They probably couldn't die here. "Still…"

A bit more climbing and hiking across what might have been a path but could also have been convenient coincidence rewarded them with an opening.

"Great. Now we know there's a creepy cave here. Can we leave now?" Blue demanded.

"Please?" Red whimpered.

Instead of replying, Vio entered the mouth of the cave. It was dark. Darker than dark, actually. Blue and Red edged in behind him.

Blue drew in a breath, about to comment on how there was obviously nothing here so they should leave now, but before he could utter a word the cave rumbled. Then came the wind. Fierce and cold and biting, it knocked Red and Blue clear off their feet. Screams and a slew of expletives tumbled out of the cave with them.

Vio gritted his teeth as the wind buffeted his body, whipping his hair and his clothes into disarray. He dug the toes of his boots into the ground and desperately reached for something to stabilize him. A stalagmite. A hunk of rock on the wall. Anything.

But there was nothing.

His left foot slipped and that was all it took. Vio went airborne for one heart-thudding-in-throat second before something solid and freezing cold clamped down on his wrist.

It burned the way only ice could when pressed against warm skin. Frantically, Vio tried to reclaim his limb, clawing at the thing that held him. He was no longer interested in whatever secrets the cave kept. It could keep them. He just wanted to get out. Doing so should have been easy. The wind was monstrously strong. But whatever had seized him was stronger.

All it took was a tug. One tug and Vio was sent hurtling face first into the darkness.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"VIO!" Red's voice cracked on the cry but Blue's held steady. Panicking never helped anyone. Action, now _that_ was useful.

With a roar, Blue flung himself at the yawning mouth that had just swallowed his brother. Vio would not be eaten by a creepy dark hole in a mountain. Not on his watch.

The toe of his boot was a hair's breadth away from the cave floor when the howling wind returned. It punched him back into the dirt, sending jitters of not-quite pain rattling through his bones.

Spitting curses, Blue scrambled to his feet and threw himself at the cave once more, only vaguely aware of Red's desperate cries and pleas for Vio to come back. To _answer._

The only answer they received was a growling gale. Nevertheless, Blue didn't give up. He got to his feet, ducked his head, squared his shoulders, and charged—only to be thrown back again.

And again.

And again.

And _again._

Each failure fanned the flame burning inside his belly. It became more than a sputtering spark, more than a blazing inferno. It turned into a beast. Raging and screaming and sending sweat to roll off of him—or maybe that was just all the exertion—and lighting him up to bury the dark coal that was crumbling in the exact same place. He couldn't crumble. Vio needed him.

Only when a hand snagged his arm did Blue pause his efforts to force entry. His eyes met Red's teary ones. "We have to get Green!"

"Fat lot of good that will do!" Blue yanked his arm out of Red's hold and prepared to leap into the darkness once more. Green couldn't even reach the Great Tree without the world dissolving around him. There was no way he would be able to get to this cave, much less breech it.

It was up to Blue.

Unfortunately, Blue could not breech the cave either. That had been clear from the start, but Blue refused to accept it until he'd been blown onto his back at least twenty times.

After the twenty-fourth, he reluctantly determined that he needed another plan because his current one wasn't working and ran after his red-clad brother. At the very least, he could protect _him_.

* * *

"Found you!" Beth sealed her declaration by parting the tall grass he was currently lying belly down in and offering him a hand.

Green took it, trying to keep the pain of the headache banging at his temples like a hammer on a stubborn blade off his face as he stood.

"You boys are so easy to find," Beth complained, a disappointed expression crossing her freckled-features.

"That's because you're good at the game."

"No," Beth objected, jutting out her chin indignantly. "It's because Talo doesn't know how to shut his mouth for more than five seconds and also because your outfit is so colorful I'd have to be a blind goat not to see it!"

Green grimaced at that. The fact his tunic wasn't all green had slipped his mind while selecting a hiding place. He blamed it on the almost-migraine. Normally, he didn't forget details like that.

"I'll pick a better hiding spot next time," he said by way of apology. Personally, he hoped he wouldn't have to. Playing with the village kids had sounded like a fun way to pass the time ten minutes ago. Now, it was akin to torture. The sun was way too bright, the village too noisy. He pulled his hood over his head in an attempt to block it all out.

Beth huffed. "See to it that you do. Now go join Talo."

The Hero of the Four Sword obeyed without complaint. This turned out to be a mistake, since Talo was just as horridly loud as Beth had promised and insisted on ranting to him about how the bossy girl had totally cheated.

"Maybe you can be it next time," Green suggested in an attempt to quiet the boy down.

"Beth is such a control freak. She won't let us break the rules!" Talo exclaimed, sounding incredibly put off by this fact. "If she finds everyone she gets to be it again, and if she doesn't then whoever she can't find gets to be it. It won't be me because I'm already out. I guess I could hide again..."

"_Green!"_ A rush of emotion came with the exclamation, accelerating his heart rate and stabbing a bolt of ice-cold panic into his chest. _"You have to help! Vio's in trouble! But also please don't be mad because I didn't even know you said we weren't allowed to explore the mountains…"_

Red continued to ramble, but Green remained stuck on that detail. The mountains. The others had disobeyed him and gone to the mountains. No, it was more than that. They'd lied to his face! Blue and Vio had promised him they would leave the mountains alone, but they went anyway. Now something bad had happened, only he didn't know what because Red's explanation was all over the place and filled with so many tears that they threatened to flood out of his mind and into reality.

Blue barged in next, bringing even more terror with him. Green clasped his hands together tightly, trying to keep them from trembling._ "Listen, we may or may not have disobeyed you and gone to the mountains and now Vio's…gone."_

Gone? What did Blue mean 'Vio's gone'? Green's plan to ask was foiled by Talo, who had all but shoved his face into his. "Well? Will you?"

Green recoiled, fighting to keep his face neutral. "Will I…what?"

"Teach me to fight!" Talo ordered, nearly smacking Green with the branch he raised skyward. Green flinched.

"_The cave took him, and we can't get in! Blue tried a whole bunch and I kept yelling for him, but he didn't answer,"_ Red continued, sniffling.

"Later," he choked out.

"It has to be now!" the messy-haired boy in front of him insisted. "Before Beth finds everyone."

Green didn't see why that mattered and didn't have the energy to spare to figure it out. His mind was still reeling, his emotions sling-shotting back and forth between panicked and furious. Not to mention his headache had developed into a full-blown migraine, which wasn't helping one bit. He needed to leave, to get someplace quiet with no screaming children so that he could scream at the voices in his head.

"_This is ridiculous. I'm going back,"_ Blue declared.

He drew in a breath to protest, to yell at Blue to stay right where he was, but Red beat him to it. _"No! Stay here. Green, you need to come inside!"_

"_Even if he did, he's not going to do anything but yell at us! He can't get to the mountains."_

"_Yes, he can."_

"_No, he can't! You weren't here earlier when we tried to take him there. It didn't work."_

"_Then how are we going to rescue Vio?" _Red whimpered.

What had Vio? How could a cave trap him and not let him back out? Why wasn't he responding to Red's calls? Why couldn't Blue enter the cave? Was it for the same reason Green couldn't access much of their fantasy world? Or was there another reason? Could they work around it? Could there be another entrance? One they could access? How did they know Vio wasn't just messing with them besides the fact that it went against his character?

These questions and more ran rampant through his mind, drowning out the sounds around and inside him. He needed a way out, but he couldn't leave Talo—and when did Malo get there?—alone. Playing with them doubled as watching them so abandoning the children was out of the question. Then again, this was their village. Nothing bad could happen here.

Except maybe it could. Talo was talking about sword fighting for whatever reason earlier. Was he fixing to get into a fight with someone? If so, Green had to be around to stop it. At the very least, someone responsible had to be around, and until that girl found Hyrule or Wind, he was the only responsible person in the vicinity.

As he watched the two brothers chat back and forth, the younger one's voice blessedly softer than the elder's, Green fidgeted. He played with the kinstones on his belt and traced his hand over the perfect stitching of his tunic because Blue would have it no other way. His touch stilled at the violet section. What had happened to Vio? Where was Vio?

He felt plenty of sickness in his stomach and panic fluttering in his heart and anger flushing his body hot, then cold, but he didn't know whose feelings were whose. Were Vio's mixed in somewhere? Or were they completely absent? Green had no way of knowing and the not knowing drove him crazy.

Well, crazier.

He tapped his feet and tugged at the ends of his hair and tried to slow his breathing, all in an attempt to stay stay stay. Because he could feel himself drifting up and away from everything to a place where an angry ball wasn't tangled in his chest and no one was screaming at him to fix something he didn't know how to fix. To a place where nothing was wrong.

Green couldn't say when Hyrule joined their little group of failures, only that when he did, Green quickly spat out an excuse about having forgotten something at Twi's before retreating. Whether or not Hyrule understood him or if he'd actually said the words or just imagined them, Green didn't know.

All he knew was that by the time he'd reached the treehouse and shut the door, it was okay to scream.

After having to suppress it for so long, Green thought the words would explode out of him. They didn't. For too many seconds, he had no words. When he finally found some, they came out low and seething. "Why'd you go to the mountains?"

"_That's not important. We—"_

"It is important," Green shot back, cutting Blue off. "I told both of you not to mess with that place and you agreed. You both said you'd leave it alone but you didn't. You went behind my back!"

"_Yeah, yeah we lied and we're sorry and all that."_ Green sensed Blue rolling his eyes. _"Can we focus on the problem now?"_

Blue's blasé tone only served to infuriate Green more. His hands curled into fists at his sides. "The problem? The problem is you don't _listen_. None of you listen! You think it's a game, and it's not!"

"_I didn't know you said not to,"_ Red piped up, voice small.

"_We don't listen? Are you seriously berating us like children? You're not the boss of us, you know. We can do what we want."_

"Not when it goes against my orders!"

"_Your orders aren't worth the dirt on the ground!"_

"_Please don't—" _Red's plea was trampled by Blue's rage.

"_What exactly gives you jurisdiction over us? Go ahead. Tell me, Green. I'd love to hear it."_

He set his jaw. "I'm the leader."

"_Oh! You're the leader! Of course because we live in a world where everything revolves around you. Excuse me, I forgot." _Sarcasm dripped like acid from Blue's words, and had the boy been in front of him, Green would have planted a fist in his face.

"_That's why we're arguing about this now, isn't it? Instead of actually trying to help Vio?"_

"Vio would be fine if you had listened to me!" Green shouted.

"_It wasn't even my fault!" _Blue retorted._ "Vio was curious! _

Green scoffed."That's it? That's your defense? You're going to blame the boy who's missing?!"

"_I'm not saying it's his fault. I'm just…" _He blew out an aggravated sigh._ "He wanted to, and I did say no eventually but the idiot kept going!"_

Green didn't believe that for a second. Out of all his brothers, Vio was the most sensible. He didn't act recklessly. He always had a plan, and he never did anything without considering the consequences. Most of all, he listened to Green. Blue, on the other hand…

"_Can we please stop fighting and go rescue Vio?"_ Red interjected.

Despite knowing Red had little to do with the whole fiasco, Green couldn't stop himself from snapping. "How? How, Red? How do you want me to do that? You want me to magic him back from wherever he is? Snap my fingers and make him appear? This isn't my mistake. This would never have happened if…if you'd all just _listened_ to me!" He was pacing now, practically stomping across the floor, back and forth and back and forth like a caged animal. Because he was. He couldn't move freely inside. He couldn't help Vio. He didn't know how to help Vio, but the others expected him to.

"_Sorry…"_

"Sorry isn't going to bring him back!"

"_Neither is yelling at us!" _Blue returned with just as much ferocity. _"It's not even Red's fault. It's true. He didn't know. Yell at me all you want but leave him out of it."_

"_Don't yell at all!"_ Red objected, voice watery. _"Both of you. I don't like it when you guys yell."_

"Well, I don't like it when you expect me to clean up all your messes, so there!"

"_I'm leaving,"_ Blue announced.

"Don't you dare!" Vio was already missing. He didn't need Blue getting himself lost too.

"_Why? You want to yell at me some more? Be my guest, but make it quick."_

"Stay where you are. Don't go anywhere. Not until Vio shows up."

"_Vio isn't going to show up! He needs to be found, and I'm going to find him."_ Blue's presence began to fade.

"_Wait!"_ Red cried. _"You couldn't get in last time! We need a better plan."_

"_I have a plan. It's called force."_

"Blue!"

A beat of silence.

"_He left,"_ Red said quietly.

Green fisted his hands in his hair and pulled. Should he send Red to fetch Blue back or tell Red to stay where he was? What was the right course of action? If Red went after Blue then they could both share Vio's fate, but if he didn't then Blue could disappear and that was bad too. Vio would have the solution, but Vio wasn't here.

"_Vio's probably fine, I think. Right?"_ Red rambled, as Green continued to pace. _"He's strong and brave and this is our world so nothing bad can happen. Right, Green?"_

He hunched his shoulders, as if to hide from the question. I_ don't know._

"_We can't die in here can we?"_

_I don't know._

"_We can't get hurt or sick. That'd be silly because it's our head and we'd never want to be hurt or sick so we must not be able to be, right?"_

_I don't know._

"_There aren't any monsters here, are there Green?"_

_I don't know._

"_Vio will come back…right?"_

_I don't know_. Those three words repeated like a mantra in his head, drowning out Red's voice. Yet, Green refused to let them pass his lips. He was the leader. He was the one the others looked to for answers. He couldn't admit that he didn't have any.

Think! He had to think. That's what Vio would do. He'd think and come up with a plan and go through with it. But what was Green supposed to do? What were his options? Vio was missing, and Blue had to be scolded for being reckless, and Red had to be comforted because why else would his face be wet if not because Red was upset?

Of course Red was upset. Their brother was missing, possibly gone forever, and Green hadn't provided a solution. All he'd done was yell and pace and yell some more.

One would think he would be tired of yelling by now, but he only wanted to scream more. About how it wasn't fair the others made mistakes and expected him to fix them. It wasn't fair that they all had to co-exist in one body. It wasn't fair that he couldn't be normal. It wasn't fair—

Green banged into a wall. When he recoiled, the last thing he expected was for the wall to reach out and grip him by the shoulders.

Not a wall, Green realized as he tilted his head back. Time.

Sound flooded back, loud and unwelcoming, but he tried to concentrate on what the man in front of him was saying. "—'kay? What happened?"

Green heaved for breath, grabbing for the words to explain, but they escaped each time in a whoosh of air.

"You don't have to speak," Time assured him, seeming to understand. "Sign for me?"

Hands trembling like leaves in a windstorm, Green scrambled to do so. His fingers twitched, seeking out the correct positions to explain about the cave and the world inside his head. About how Vio was missing because no one listened to him. About how overwhelmed he was by everything. But his brain did not supply the silent words any more than they did the verbal ones.

What was the sign for too much? It had something to do with stacking his hands on top of one another, didn't it? Was it right over left or left over right? Did it even matter? He didn't know.

_He didn't know!_

Large hands captured his, stilling them. "Forget signing. Let's just breathe, okay? In…and out."

Staring at nothing and struggling to draw in air, Green did his best to focus on Time's instructions. At some point, Red began to count in his head, soft and calming. Helpful.

_In. Two. Three. Four._

_Out. Two. Three. Four._

After what Green could only estimate to be a minute based off of Red's counting, the blackness eating at the edges of his vision began to recede. Vaguely, he was aware of Time leading him to a chair. He sat, unaware of how exhausted he was until he was off his feet. He traced the woodgrain on the underside of the table with his fingers as Red continued to breathe with him inside. Outside, Time had fallen silent, watching him carefully. Patiently.

But waiting all the same. Waiting for Green to explain himself. To give him answers, but he didn't have answers. Not for why there was a fake world inside his head or where Vio was and how to get him back. The thoughts consumed him, and he felt himself slipping back and back and back. This time he didn't bother fighting it. He wanted to drift away. To distance himself from all this madness.

Red popped into the body, dizzy and hyper aware of the throbbing in his head. He laid his head on the table, the relative coolness of the wood providing some relief from the aching. But there was a different aching inside. One that was distinctly Green and couldn't be combatted with cool surfaces. He could feel it even though he couldn't sense Green nearby.

Slowly, Red shifted, so he could peek up at Time. He kicked his feet to solidify the idea that he was in control now. "…Hi."

Time offered him a wan smile. "Hey, there. Can I ask who I'm speaking with?"

Red sniffed. "It's Red."

"Are you okay, Red?"

"My head hurts." The complaint seemed petty in the face of everything, but Red liked to be honest. Anyway, it bought him time to figure out what to say. None of them had told anyone else about the inside world. Green hadn't said not to, exactly, but he also hadn't said it was okay either. The last thing Red wanted to do was make Green upset…or rather, more upset.

"I think I have a potion…" Time said, taking his eye off him to rummage in the pouch at his side.

Red shot out of his chair to stop him. Potions never worked on switch headaches. "It's okay! I don't need it."

"You were crying," Time pointed out.

"No, that wasn't me. That was Green."

"Green was crying?" Time asked, seeming to struggle with the idea of Green crying. Red did too. Green _never _cried.

He plopped back down onto the chair as Time gave him his full attention. "Yeah."

"Do you know why?"

"Um—"

"_The cave's gone!" _Blue's voice stole the rest of Red's reply which was just as well because he didn't know how to form it without mentioning the world inside their head.

"What?" It came out in a breathy whisper, but Time must have heard it regardless, or else the panic showed on his face because the Hero of Time quirked a concerned eyebrow.

"_I went to the exact same spot we were, and it's not there."_ Blue reported.

"It has to be," Red whimpered. If it wasn't then…then what did that mean for Vio?

"_It's not! I can't find it. Wait…where's Green?"_

"I dunno." Tears dripped down his face, landing with wet plops on the table's surface.

"Red." His gaze whipped up to meet Time's. He had to search for a moment because the man had moved to his side and was now reaching out an uncertain hand. "What's going on?"

"None of your business," Blue answered, blinking away the vertigo from the sudden switch. He leaned away from Time. The man was far too close.

Thankfully, Time took the hint and let his hand fall to his side, retreating a few steps for good measure.

"_That's rude, Blue!"_ Red admonished him as he scrubbed irritably at his eyes. His brothers were way too weepy today.

"I was trying to help."

"Do me a favor. Don't." Blue massaged his pounding temples with a hand. The cave was gone and so was Vio. If he'd been the weepy sort, he would have wept too. Instead, he stood and, swaying only slightly, walked to the door.

"Where are you going?" Time's voice grated on Blue's nerves, and he whirled around, leveling a glare at the old man.

"To spar. Got a problem with that?" Frankly, Blue didn't care if he did, and left the house before Time could reply to prove it.

He didn't bother with the ladder. Ladders were for people who had time and sanity, and he possessed neither. Besides, the shock of landing hard on his feet was satisfying. Never mind that his ankles ached a little afterwards.

As Blue entered the village proper, he did his best not to stomp and to relax the tension in his shoulders. He didn't need questions. His efforts were wasted since the questions came for him anyway. In fact, they nearly barreled him over as they spewed from the mouths of multiple children, none of which he recognized.

"Have you come back to play with us?" a little boy with blond hair and tired eyes asked hopefully.

"Teach me how to sword fight!" another boy cried, waving a branch around in the air.

"Ignore those two. Are you feeling better?" a freckle-faced girl asked.

"No. In fact, if I stand here any longer I think I might die," was what Blue wanted to say. What he did say was nothing because Hyrule and Wind came to his rescue. The sailor, who was soaking wet for some reason, herded the children away, and Hyrule blocked him from their view.

"Hey, uh, you okay?"

"Fine. Do you know where Legend or Warrior are, by chance?" Blue wondered, barely remembering to imitate Green before he spoke.

Hyrule furrowed his brow in thought. "I think Legend's at the ranch. Warrior…I'm not so sure."

"And the ranch is…?"

"That way." 'Rule gestured vaguely, and Blue nodded, setting off without knowing exactly where he was going but sure his nose would help him find it.

He was right.

The place reeked of animal, which was only to be expected on a farm, and if anything, Legend looked happy to be called away from helping Twilight and Sky tend to the goats and horses.

"What's up, short stuff?"

He scowled. "Don't call me that."

"Tiny, then," Legend decided.

"I'll break your kneecaps." He was only half-kidding.

Legend smirked, vaulting over the fence. "I'd love to see you try."

Blue wasn't one to pass up an invitation and promptly kicked out. The pink-haired hero danced around it with a laugh. "Someone's testy today. Did you have a fight with the others?"

"Something like that." Blue refused to get into it, and Legend didn't pry. That was what he liked about Legend. The man didn't care. He didn't ask questions. He always seemed to sense when Blue needed to let off steam and was always more than willing to do so with him.

Blue didn't even have to mention sparring for Legend to understand that was what he wanted, and soon enough the two of them were standing across from each other in the clearing before Twi's house, swords at the ready.

Hopefully, the exercise would clear his head enough so he could think. If he was especially lucky, it would give him an idea of how to save Vio. If not, well, at least he got to hit something.

"Ready to lose?" Legend quipped, twirling his sword expertly.

"In your dreams," Blue returned easily, already feeling better.

They began.

* * *

Red found Green in his room, curled up on the bed with his back to the door.

"Green?"

No response.

He shut the door and quietly padded over. The poplar wood floorboards beneath his feet were blessedly free of creaks. Again, he repeated his brother's name.

Once again, silence answered him.

"_Greeeen~"_ He sing-songed, climbing halfway onto the bed and poking him gingerly in the back.

"Stop." Green turned, giving Red full view of his tear-streaked face. "Go away."

"Sorry, I can't. You're upset."

"So?"

"So I want you to feel better."

Green buried his face into the mattress in response.

Red draped himself over his brother's dejected form and ignored the muffled "Get off" that issued forth from the body under him. "I was thinking…maybe we can will Vio back." Green said nothing so Red continued. "You weren't here, but we made lights last night. When you fell asleep it got dark. It turned to night-time, and I got scared but Vio suggested we make light. So we did. I have them in my room still. They're not lit right now but that's only because it's daytime—"

"What's your point?" Green asked, his voice raw from crying.

"Oh! Um, I just thought maybe we could make Vio come here by imagining it. Like with how we made the lights."

Doubt flickered across his brother's face, but Red was determined to wipe it away. He sat up and closed his eyes tight in concentration. He didn't know if having his eyes closed helped or not, but he'd done it like that last time, and Vio always said consistency was a good thing so it couldn't hurt.

An image of Vio appeared in his mind. It wasn't difficult to picture Vio's face. It was his face and Green's face and Blue's face, after all. But there was something about it that was distinctly _Vio_. The set of his jaw, the knowing gleam in his eyes that advertised the fact he was the smartest. Yet, despite his inherent wisdom and love for learning, Vio exuded kindness and calmness. He was always there to help them think things through. He was the voice of reason, of logic. If Green wasn't their leader, Red was sure it would be Vio. He seemed like leader material. Looked it too. Even though they were all the same height, Vio appeared to loom slightly taller, if only because of the way he held himself.

Red pictured Vio's soft smiles and violet tunic threaded with gold, the earth element symbol lovingly embroidered in the bottom left corner. Red would know. He'd sewn it. He recalled everything that made Vio _Vio_. His love for books and meticulous projects. The way he got lost in whatever he was doing and crinkled his nose the tiniest bit when he was concentrating particularly hard. The sound of his voice, nearly always soft as feathers, yet deepest out of them all.

Only when he'd reconstructed his brother perfectly in his mind did Red dare to picture Vio welcoming him with open arms and a half-smile, announcing, "I'm back." Red snapped open his eyes, an expectant smile curving his lips upward.

The room was empty.

Refusing to believe he'd failed, Red slid off the bed and pivoted slowly on his heel, searching the forest of green for a flash of violet. There was none.

"Maybe…maybe…" His gaze came to rest on Green's pill-bug like form. "Maybe we both have to will him here. Yeah! That must be it." He hopped onto the bed with renewed vigor. "Green, come on. Help me. Picture Vio with me. As much as you can. The more detail the better. Maybe I forgot some things and that's why it didn't work."

"It's not going to work," Green mumbled into the bed.

"Not with that attitude it won't!" Red agreed, crawling over so he could see Green's front instead of his back. He reached out a hand to shake his shoulder. "Come o—"

"No!" Green shot up, slapping his hand away. Stunned, Red hardly registered the brief tingle of almost pain the contact sent radiating through his palm. "It's not going to work! You can't just wish someone back into existence!"

"You say that like he's dead," Red said, feeling his bottom lip wobble.

"He might as well be! We can't get to him and…and—!" Green flopped back down, curling up and shaking with silent sobs.

Timidly, Red reached out to place a hand on the distraught boy's head. When he didn't protest, Red began to gingerly run his hand through his hair. It was something calming that Grandpa Smith had always done for them when they were little and upset.

"I ha-hate this p-place."

"It's not so bad," Red said.

"Not so bad?!" Green cried, jumping up once more and forcing Red to retract his hand. "Red, Vio got taken by…by _something!_ And besides that it just…it feels wrong. Everything is too sharp and not sharp enough. My senses are all messed up. It's like a dream, but not. It's…it's a nightmare."

Red frowned in sympathy. He couldn't relate. Maybe the mountains and the cave could be described as nightmarish but not the rest of the world. The rest of the world was vibrant and beautiful. It was alive. It didn't feel like a dream to him, but clearly it felt that way to Green.

"Maybe some of it is bad," he admitted. "But not all of it." He pulled Green into a tight hug and considered it a success when the green-clad Four Sword Hero wrapped his arms around him and buried his face in Red's shoulder. "I'm here, and we can hug. See? That's nice. That's not a nightmare."

"But it's not real," Green mumbled, voice catching on a sob.

Red scrunched up his face in thought. Technically it wasn't real but… "It's a different kind of real. I mean…we're both real. So some of what's here must be real." He couldn't quite put it into words that made sense—that was Vio's department—but he tried nonetheless.

It didn't seem to have worked. "I don't like it."

"We can try to change it so you do like it," Red suggested. "We can make anything you want. Well…" He thought about Vio. "Almost anything. What do you want?"

"I want it to go away."

Red didn't know if they could make it do that, and he didn't want to try either, so he did the only thing he could think of. He squeezed Green tighter.

When that seemed to lose its effect, he rubbed Green's back and rocked back and forth and stroked his hair. Anything to reassure Green that he was there and _real. _That he loved him and wouldn't leave. That if this world was a nightmare, he'd shield him from the worst of it.

Finally, Green pulled away, scrubbing furiously at his eyes with the heels of his hands. The gesture was pointless to Red. He already knew Green had been crying, but for Green's sake he pretended to forget. "There's no time for this."

Red tilted his head to the side, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"This!" Green reiterated, flailing an arm about to encompass the entirety of the space they currently sat in. "All of this. It's not…there's no time for a mental breakdown. I'm sorry."

He shook his head so fast, had he been in the body, he would have given himself whiplash. "No! It's okay. You don't have to apologize for anything. You can be upset." Honestly, Red thought Green would have to be heartless to _not_ be upset with one of their own missing.

Unfortunately, Green didn't see it that way. He dragged a weary hand down his face, and though it was Red's face too, he couldn't help but think Green looked older. "It's not just being upset. It's letting it do this. The whole world in our head thing and…I just—" Red waited patiently while Green grasped for words. "We're on a mission with other heroes. We don't have the luxury of falling apart. Monsters could ambush us at any time, and at the rate things are going, they won't even be _normal_ monsters. They'll be tainted and that means they'll be stronger and deadlier, and we _can't_ be a dead weight to the others. That's not fair. Blue does a lot of the fighting but sometimes I do it and sometimes Vi—"

Green choked, and Red took that as his cue to say something. "We're in Twi's village. We're safe. We don't have to worry about—"

"But we do!" Green argued. "We've been ambushed so many times! Being in a village doesn't matter."

Doubt began to creep in, but Red quickly shrugged it off. "We're safe. If we have to fight, Blue will do it for us."

"But we'll mess him up! _I'll_ mess him up by being all emotional."

"You won't," Red said. He was the most emotional of them all, and he'd never prevented Blue from doing his job. Well, almost never. "Even if you did, the others would protect us."

"They shouldn't have to! We should be able to handle ourselves, and if we can't then…then what kind of heroes are we?! What kind of hero am I?"

"A good one. A normal one," Red declared, gripping Green's shoulders and shaking him a little to encourage the truth to sink in. "Yes, we're heroes and we can handle ourselves but sometimes we need help. Everyone needs help sometimes. Wild has those memory blackouts and none of us think less of him for that. We protect him when we need to. Same thing with Sky when he has breathing problems. Even Time has a blind side! He's great at fighting despite it, but he doesn't catch everything so everyone watches out for him too. So see? Being a little less than okay sometimes is fine."

"It isn't!" Green objected, jerking out of his hold. "You just said it yourself that the others have issues of their own. We can't add to that. If we do, there will be no one left to look after anyone."

Red frowned. Green had completely missed his point. "That's not true. Everyone has everyone else's back at all times."

"That's impossible," Green claimed, hugging himself and refusing to make eye contact. "All it takes is one slip up…"

"I'm getting you something to drink." Red decided, getting to his feet with determination. Hot drinks always made them feel warm and cozy and safe and Red wondered why he hadn't thought of it before. Talking was obviously too much for Green to handle at the moment.

Green glanced up at him, thoroughly confused by the sudden change of topic. "What?"

"I'm getting you a drink," Red repeated. "What do you want? Hot coca? Tea?"

"Red…" Green trailed off, his expression unamused.

"Surprise it is!" he said, turning on his heel and leaving the room before Green could protest.

Red could probably make the drink appear without venturing to the kitchen downstairs but something told him Green wouldn't receive such a concoction well. He complained about things here not being real enough. Surely if Red brewed the drink himself, like he would outside, it would taste real to Green and cheer him up.

Just as Red reached the bottom of the steps, however, the world wavered around him. He stumbled, reaching for the banister to right himself but a force shoved him forward from behind and sent him reeling.

His surroundings blurred past him in a mosaic of colors that made his stomach churn, and Red closed his eyes in an effort not to puke. It didn't work as well as he'd hoped, since he could still feel himself moving, and it was strange because he was certain his feet were still firmly on the floor.

Opening his eyes proved him wrong. He was on the floor, but he was sitting, and he wasn't in the house anymore. Switch. The realization hit him a second before Blue's shout did.

"_Darn it, Red! I wanted to eat that!" _

Blinking rapidly to clear his still swimming vision, Red glanced down at his lap, surprised to find a plate with a piece of pumpkin pie on it. There were a few bites taken out of it already, and if he concentrated, he could taste the lingering spice on his was not a pleasant taste. He scooped up some of the whipped cream on top and popped it into his mouth. The sweetness helped a little, but he didn't dare eat any more of the pie. Or maybe he should so Blue could regain control…

One failed experiment later left Red shoveling the remainder of the whipped cream into his mouth to cleanse his palate.

He hadn't meant to switch. Green still needed comfort, and he couldn't provide that out here. Maybe Blue could give Green comfort in his stead? At the very least, it would give Blue something productive to do instead of lamenting the fact that Red was eating his pie—or more accurately, the whipped cream on top of his pie.

Taking in his surroundings properly for the first time, Red noted his bag was missing. This revelation wasn't cause for panic, seeing as the rest of the heroes in the house were lounging around in casual wear, stripped of all heavy armor and burdening packs and bags.

Still, Red expected their belongings to be nearby. Paranoia seemed to be a heroic trait, and it was because of this none of them made a habit of storing their things out of sight, even while relaxing.

Glancing around the semicircle of heroes huddled in front of the crackling fireplace rewarded him with no clues as to the whereabouts of his things. Asking came to mind, but as he settled into the body and the fogginess of switching wore off, Red became acutely aware of the conversation taking place around him.

Wind was in the middle of regaling the others with a story about how he was the master of hide and seek or something along those lines. The sailor had most people's attention, and those he wasn't entertaining were engrossed in conversations of their own. Interrupting any of them would be rude.

Surely finding his things on his own couldn't be too difficult. Red twisted around, eyes flicking over the various pieces of furniture and decorations that made Twi's home cozy. The firelight distorted everything, throwing shadows over objects and masking their true identities. Unfortunately, none of what he saw looked even vaguely like his bag.

The sudden absence of the plate in his hands whipped Red around to face a smirking Legend.

"_HEY!"_ Blue screeched in his head.

"Hey!" Red cried out loud, grabbing for the plate more out of reflex than out of desire to finish the dessert it held.

Legend moved it out of his reach. "What? You're not eating it. Figured I'd finish it for you."

"_Don't you dare! That's mine!" _

Red retracted his hand. "You can have it."

"_No, you can't!"_

This reaction wasn't what Legend had been expecting and his smirk immediately fell into a distrustful frown. "Really?"

"Yeah. I don't like it."

"_I do," _Blue grumbled. Silently, Red apologized. He knew Blue liked pumpkin pie, but Blue wasn't in control anymore so the treat would go to waste if he didn't give it away.

Legend quirked an eyebrow suspiciously. "You were just eati—wait, you switched."

Red nodded.

"Huh. I didn't know your taste buds changed too."

He giggled. "They do."

"Well, that's great news for me," Legend observed, digging into his second helping of pie with a smile. Red beamed back.

Blue, however, was devoid of cheery expressions, and his sour attitude served as an ample reminder for Red to get down to business. "Legend, go you know where my bag is?"

"Yeah, it's with everyone else's. First loft. The ladder's there," Legend pointed with his fork. "It should be against the bookshelf with all the pictures on it."

Thanking him, Red stood and hurried up the ladder the Hero of Legend had indicated, easily locating the bookshelf, and more importantly, his bag.

The light was scarcer in the loft, but Red deemed it enough to read and write by. After digging out their shared journal and a pencil, he flipped open the book and began to write. "Dear Blue"

"_You don't have to address it to me like that. I'm _right_ here."_

Red erased the first part and started over. "Please go to the house and make Green some hot cocoa."

"_What? Why?"_

"He is sad and I was going to do it but I switched before I could make it." Red chewed on the end of the pencil for a second before adding, "Please be nice to him."

"_I'll be nice as long as he's nice."_

"Blue, I mean it. He's really upset. You have to be nice."

A sigh blew through his mind. _"Okay, okay. I'll be nice. Anything else?"_

"Make sure you make the hot cocoa like you would outside. No cheating. Also don't mention that the cave is gone." Red waited for Blue to agree before erasing that last sentence. If Green did front, Red didn't want him finding out.

Satisfied that Blue would follow his orders and feeling slightly strange but proud that he was the one giving them, Red tucked the journal and the pencil back into his bag. While he was there, he swapped the blue headband currently looped around his head for the red one.

Upon reclaiming his spot between Legend and Warrior in the semi-circle, Red noted that Legend had nearly finished the pie he'd handed over. Red would be lying if he said he didn't feel guilty over robbing Blue of his dessert, but he reassured himself with the fact that it hadn't been a conscious choice. Besides, if Blue really wanted pumpkin pie, he could probably make it and enjoy it inside.

Once everyone was finished with their dessert, Wild began to collect the dirty dishes, and Red shot up to help. As he was following their resident cook to the kitchen, stack of plates in hand, Time called his name.

He glanced at the table Time was seated at with Twi just in time to see the eldest hero motion him over.

"I have to…" Red lifted the dishes in his hands to indicate his current task.

Twilight noticed and got to his feet, strolling over and relieving him of the burden. "I'll take these. Thanks."

Free of dishes, Red skipped over to Time. He looked serious. Then again, he always looked serious, so it probably wasn't anything to be concerned about.

"I wanted to check up on you. You started to cry before Blue came out earlier. Is everything okay?"

Red rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, stalling for time to think of a response that wasn't a lie. Unfortunately, spinning tall tales wasn't his strong suit so his explanation staggered and stumbled its way out of his mouth. "Yes, well…not really. Kind of? There was a fight, er, argument? But I wasn't involved in it. Well, I _was, _but I didn't actually do anything. I didn't _know,_ and I tried to explain that to Green, but he still yelled at me." Red frowned at the memory, eyes burning. He did his best to not cry again, though. Green hadn't meant it. He'd just been stressed, still was stressed. "Mostly it was Green and Blue yelling at each other."

"Where was Vio during all this? Was he involved?" The question made Red's blood run cold.

He shook his head. Too quickly. Or perhaps too stiffly. In any case, he must have done it wrong because Time's frown deepened.

"Are you sure?"

Black swallowing violet flashed bright and painful in his mind. Red bunched up the hem of his tunic in his hands. He needed something to cling to. To reassure himself. When he spoke again, it came out as a whisper. "I don't know if I can tell you."

"You can tell me anything," Time assured him. He gently grabbed one of Red's hands and squeezed it. "I'm here for you. For all of you."

When Red raised his head to meet Time's eye, he found only warmth and compassion there. This, coupled with the man's words, was more than enough to turn on the waterworks, and although he knew it might make Green mad, he also knew dealing with this on their own was impossible. So he opened his mouth and let the truth spill out.

He told Time about how there was a place in their head now. About how he, Blue, and Vio went exploring farther than Green advised and found a cave. How that cave sucked Vio in and spit them out. About how they ran to Green for help and Green yelled at them, then panicked with them because he didn't know what to do either. He even mentioned how Blue had tried to go back to the cave but couldn't find it.

The rush of words left Red gasping for air, but he found that he could breathe easier with the weight of everything in the open rather than congealing in his chest.

Time didn't share his relief. In fact, the eldest hero looked even more worried than before and genuinely lost. "I'm sorry." Time apologized, shaking his head. "I didn't quite catch all that."

So Red launched into the explanation again but the Hero of Time squeezed his hands, signaling him to stop. "Slow down, slow down! I can't keep up when you talk so fast. You were saying there's a place…?"

"Yes," Red said, forcing himself to take a deep breath before continuing. "In our head."

"And Vio's there?"

"Yeah. So is Green and Blue. I go there too when I'm not out here."

"Okay so…what's the problem?"

"The cave took Vio."

"The whole place is a cave?" Time wondered, sounding unsure.

"No, only a part of it. There's a cave in the mountains."

"Can you draw it?" Time requested. "I'm having a hard time following."

Nodding eagerly, Red retrieved his journal and a pencil and slipped into the seat Twi had vacated earlier. Flipping to a blank page, he began to draw. First the sanctuary, then the house, the Great Tree, the lake, the forge, the forest surrounding it all, and finally the mountains. He hesitated when placing the cave. He didn't remember exactly where they were when they found it.

"_Green is impossible to please! He—what are you doing?" _Blue asked.

"Drawing," he mumbled. "Where was the cave?"

"_It was…"_

"Here?" Red guessed, hovering the tip of his pencil over the left hand side of the jagged mountains he'd drawn.

"_No not there...a bit to the right—too far! Go back. There. Yes."_ Blue sighed as Red scribbled a black mass to represent the cave. _"Not like it matters. It's not there now. Why are you even drawing it?"_

"For Time."

"_You told Time?! Are you insane?"_

"Here!" Red chirped, sliding the book across the table. He leaned over so he was practically laying on the smooth wood and tapped the black spec at the top of the page with his pencil. "This is the cave that took Vio, except it isn't there now."

"_Red!"_

The elder hero took a moment to study the map he'd drawn, brow furrowed. "I see…"

"_He can't help us. None of them can. Not unless they can get in here and they can't."_

Red didn't believe that. Surely there was a solution they hadn't thought of yet. The others didn't need access to the world inside their head to help. A map, however, was useful, and Red spent the next few minutes explaining it to Time since the man still seemed rather lost.

Finally, Red sat back on his heels, bouncing a little with hope. "So?"

"So?" Time repeated, puzzled.

"How do we get Vio back?"

"I'm…I'm not entirely sure." Red's face fell, but Time was quick to reassure him. "How about we run this by everyone else? Maybe one of them will have an idea."

Brightening at the prospect, Red reclaimed his map from Time and soon found himself explaining the situation to the rest of the heroes. When he was finished, there was silence, punctuated only by the popping of the fire and the pitter patter of rain tip-toeing on the roof.

Finally, Wild spoke, "Bombs."

"_Excuse me?"_ Twilight gaped at the scarred man.

"Bomb the mountain," Wild clarified.

Legend barked out a laugh, but Warrior nodded along as if Wild had said something particularly wise. "He's right."

"How can blowing things up be right?" Twilight objected. "That's his literal go-to to any situation. Not everything can be solved with explosives."

"Not everything can be," Warrior agreed. "But in this case it might just work. Red said the cave entrance is blocked so..."

"_It's not blocked. It's gone," _Blue corrected him.

"Not blocked. Gone," Red parroted.

"Well, either way," Warrior said, waving his hand flippantly. "Bombs should help. Blow a hole in the side, and Vio can find his way out. The reason why he hasn't turned up yet is probably because he can't find the exit."

Red beamed. It made sense! If they made an entrance of their own then Vio could use it to escape. He and Blue could even use it to get _in_.

Apparently, Blue thought the same. _"I'm going to go try it. Be back in a minute." _Red turned his attention back to the group. Time was speaking.

"..t's plausible, but I don't think they have access to explosives. Do you?"

All eyes turned to Red. He grinned. "Yes! Well, we don't have them right now, but we can make them. We can make anything we want inside."

"Anything?" Wind wondered, eyes shining in awe.

"Pretty much, yeah!"

"That's so cool!" Wind scooted closer. "What else can you do? Can you fly?

Red giggled. "I don't think so." He hadn't actually tried, but Nayru's laws of gravity seemed to hold inside as far as he could tell. That didn't mean he couldn't find a way to shrink down and fly on the back of a bird or sprout wings himself, though. Red resolved to try it when he got the chance.

"Is it even safe to blow things up?" 'Rule wondered, bringing the conversation back to its original topic.

"What do you mean?"

The traveler hero grimaced. "I just mean…well, it's a place in your head, right? I don't have any experience with stuff like that, but it seems like a bad idea to destroy things. What if everything in that world is connected to you somehow? Like if you hurt the world, you hurt yourselves?"

"How would that even work?" Legend scrunched up his face like he'd tasted something bitter.

"I don't know," 'Rule mumbled, fiddling with his hands. "Maybe I'm reading too much into it."

Legend nudged him in the side with a smirk. "That's impossible. You don't know how to read."

"Ha ha ha," 'Rule said drily.

"It's probably fine," Red decided, plastering on a grin to alleviate the apprehension that had stolen over the majority of his friends faces. "Blue already left to try it out so we'll know in a bit."

While waiting for Blue, the group struck up a game of Go-Fish. They'd just finished the third round and came to the not-so-startling conclusion that multiple people were cheating when Blue returned.

"_I couldn't even light the bomb."_

When Red reported this to the others, Legend scoffed. "You can make a bomb from thin air, but you can't make a match? Now that's pathetic."

"I'd like to see you try!" Blue bit back, nudging Red aside with his frustration.

"Did you try lighting the bomb from afar and throwing it?" Sky asked kindly. He seemed to be the only one that wasn't startled into speechlessness by the sudden switch.

That didn't stop Blue from leveling the Skyloftian with a deadpan expression, however. "What part of 'I couldn't light it', don't you understand?"

"_Say it nicer!"_ Red implored.

"What if you used a remote bomb, like the kind my Sheikah Slate has?" Wild suggested.

"I tried that too. It didn't work. Anything that has light fizzes out near the mountains."

"Strange."

"_Ooh! Maybe you can smash it with your hammer."_

Blue resisted the urge to smack himself. Of course! Why hadn't he thought of that?

As if reading his mind—who knows, maybe he was—Red said, _"No one thinks clearly when they're mad."_

"Go try that," Blue ordered.

His heart jumped into his throat before the words had left his mouth.

"_By myself?"_ Red whimpered as someone else asked, "Try what?"

"Yeah, why not? I went by myself."

"_But it's…" _Dark. Creepy. Scary. Blue was well aware. But he was also aware of how negatively being alone in dark places affected Red. He sighed.

"What's happening?" Warrior asked cautiously.

"Red came up with another idea but he refuses to go back by himself to try it. I'd go, but I'm here now." He shot a glare at Legend. "Thanks."

"It was an accident!"

"Sure it was." Blue rolled his eyes, but he wasn't mad at Legend. Not really. He was mad at his own inability to rescue Vio. His inability to make Green feel better. To resist any and all jabs at his pride.

"Why doesn't Red take Green with him?" Wind suggested.

"He can't. Green can't get to the mountains." Even if he could, Green's mental state was as fragile as cracked glass. If the hammer idea didn't work, he would only sink further into despair.

"Why not?"

"I don't know!" Blue snapped, rounding on Wind. "Do I look like an expert on this to you?"

Wind shrunk back at his tone.

"Settle down," Time said. "It was just a question." The eldest broadened his gaze to encompass the rest of the room. "Anyone else have an idea?"

"_We can switch?"_ Red offered timidly when no one else spoke.

Blue wasn't keen on the idea but they had little choice. He closed his eyes, trying to envision himself in the sanctuary, hands wrapped around the hilt of the Four Sword. But he didn't want to be holding it anymore. He pictured himself releasing the handle and stepping back so Red could take his place. Unfortunately, it wasn't that simple. It was like prying frozen fingers from a cliffside. Self-preservation screamed at him not to let go. Insisted that if he did, he would die.

In the end, he only managed to make himself nauseous.

Switching wasn't possible right now. He was rooted to the spot, not unlike a tree. It was frustrating. They _might _have figured out a way to free Vio, but Blue wasn't about to send Red to a place that made him uncomfortable, which meant they had to wait until another switch occurred.

Just as Blue had suspected, the others had no idea what to do about Vio either. All they did was reassure him that Vio was probably fine. He was probably just lost. He would probably show up soon. Probably.

Until then, they encouraged him to play card games and chat with them about nothing to take his mind off of it. As if he could do that. It was his responsibility to protect the others. He failed to protect Vio from that cursed caved, and he failed to protect Green from his own mind.

Twilight, perhaps sensing his unease, suggested he sleep it off, like he was afflicted by the common cold or one too many drinks or something else equally physical that rest could fix. Their situation would not improve with sleep, Blue was certain of that much. However, his limbs were sore from his earlier sparring session with Legend. The two of them had gone at it for hours with only the shortest of breaks in between. The body needed rest. At the very least, Blue resolved to take care of it. Protect it, like he couldn't protect Green and Vio.

So, with only minimal grumbling, he curled up near the fire with a heap of blankets and with the mutterings of his companions overhead and silence in his mind, Blue drifted off to sleep.

* * *

A crash of tinkling glass sent him bolting upright. Shouts rang in his ears as light seared his retinas. He scrunched his eyes shut and scrambled back, tangled in something that definitely wasn't his dragon's tail. It was too soft. Heavy but soft and therefore not made of scales.

It took some kicking and determined squirming on his part—for some reason phasing through it wasn't working—but eventually he broke free and distanced himself from the too-soft chains and glaring light. Only then did Shadow dare to crack open his eyes.

The light forced him to shut them almost immediately, but he'd seen enough. He'd seen enough to know _this was not the cave._

Where was he?


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed, and/or favorited this story. I appreciate it! There aren't words sufficient enough to express how much I appreciate it. I hope all of you are staying home and staying safe during this hectic time._

_Without further ado, enjoy the chapter. :)_

_~Hylia_

* * *

Chapter 7

Escape the light. It was a simple enough task. Except it wasn't. Not with all the people scrambling around, shouting with weapons sprouting from their hands as naturally as fingers. Normal people didn't hold weapons like that. Only heroes did. And if there was anything more terrifying than light—more terrifying than _death_—it was heroes.

Shadow was in more danger than he'd initially thought.

But that was fine. He could handle it. He had been in worse situations before. Heck, he'd died before. The afterlife couldn't be worse than dying, surely. Even if it was, he could get out of it. Trick it. All he had to do was slip away unnoticed to some dark corner. Then he could melt into the shadows, and no one could touch him. No one could hurt him.

Through barely open eyes—because the firelight made them burn—Shadow searched for an exit. Wood, glass glittering on the floorboards, no windows, firelight flickering, blurs of bodies moving too fast for him to follow, a door behind him, blocked by a hero, look elsewhere. A ladder leading up to…darkness? Or more light? A flash. More light. No go, then. Keep looking. That corner was pretty dark. But not dark enough. How about…there!

There was an area practically untouched by the firelight. More importantly, no one was over there. Could it be another exit? Only one way to find out.

He got to his feet, slowly, so as not to alert the men milling around. Fortunately, no one seemed focused on him. They were too preoccupied with the glass on the floor. Had they shattered another Dark Mirror? Hurt another shadow being like him? If so, he was definitely next, and he no longer had a mirror so whatever torture they subjected him to would be worse. So much worse. He had to get away.

Now.

His walk was more of a stumble at first. Then it turned into a light jog. Then a full blown run when a voice called after him. He didn't know how he knew they were addressing him. He barely even heard what they had called. But there was something in the tone, something in the way it was shouted, that made him know he was being addressed. The footsteps behind him let him know he was being chased, and that was all the incentive he needed to move faster.

The darkness wasn't complete enough to lose himself in. He realized it before he was even halfway there but backtracking was suicide.

"Four!" He heard the shout now. Understood it to mean one of the heroes was calling four more to his side. Four more to participate in the hunt. Four more to hurt him. He could take on one. Maybe two. Five was too many.

Fear poured more energy into his legs, made him move faster. It directed his eyes to the left where he found a railing sectioning off a hole in the floor. A dark hole.

Salvation!

Jumping down was hardly a conscious decision. It was more of a leap of self-preservation than anything.

The darkness wrapped around him like a hug—like a welcome home. Shadow allowed himself to bask in its comforting chill for a full millisecond before realizing he had no idea how long a fall this was. If he didn't want to go splat, he should probably go incorporeal now.

Normally turning his body to shadow took little more than a thought. He always felt lighter when he did it, which is why he knew it hadn't worked a split second before he landed.

Of course, by then it was too late to do anything. Bolts of pain shot up into his legs from the balls of his feet, and he stumbled forward into an almost-but-not-quite roll. Shouts from above served as encouragement to keep going.

It was strange that his eyes hadn't adjusted yet, but there was no time to ponder over it. He had to move. Scrambling to standing, Shadow tore deeper into the darkness.

His powers were just sapped. That was all. He needed the darkness to strengthen them. Then he could escape. Humans couldn't see in the dark. Not like he could. Except as he tripped over some unknown object and went sprawling Shadow felt very human. The light from earlier must have messed up his eyes. Annoying but not catastrophic. At least, it wasn't until he ran into a wall.

He pushed at the wood, willing his body to dissipate. When that didn't work, he concentrated on the hands he still couldn't see, intent on working a little at a time. That plan, too, failed.

Panting from exertion, Shadow hugged the wall, scrabbling for any cracks or perhaps a doorway he couldn't see. All he found were corners and, with no options left, he backed himself into one. It was likely the heroes would search for him, but it was less likely they'd venture so far into the darkness. Darkness kept heroes at bay. Shadow was safe here. Safe enough to sit and wait for his powers to come back, so he could escape for real.

Unfortunately, he forgot that heroes were resourceful. He forgot heroes could make light, and the appearance of one bobbing orb, then two, then three, sent something in his chest skittering. Then banging. Desperate pounding over and over. The kind of pounding terrified people subjected to innocent doors, but instead of a door, it was his chest.

He pressed a hand to it, sickened to find that he could _feel_ whatever it was jumping beneath his skin. Something was inside him. Something was inside him, and it was trying to leap out! Tear him open. Except it couldn't quite manage it, so he was left with a throbbing sensation in his chest, in his throat, in his wrists, in his fingertips, in his entire body, really.

It would have been manageable had it not been for the _sound_. He could hear it, the creature banging around inside him. _**Thumpthump thumpthump thumpthumpthumpthump!**_

Too loud! Shadow clapped his hands over his ears but that only made it louder. _**THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP!**_

Orange light flared, crashing through his vision and ripping away the safety of darkness. He reeled back, hands seeking out the wall behind him, searching for the tiny bit of darkness that existed at his back and willing his body to disappear into it. A drop of darkness was enough. Rather, it _should_ have been enough, but his powers refused to cooperate.

Now that Shadow concentrated, he realized he couldn't feel it. The magic that normally hummed through him was absent. In its place was that noisy, pounding creature, shaking his body like the bars of a cage.

Suddenly he understood. He understood what was going on. Why he was powerless. He was dead and this was the afterlife. Only it wasn't a nice afterlife because he didn't deserve that. He'd hurt so many people, done so many wicked things. One self-sacrificing good deed at the end of it all didn't negate any of the evil he'd committed. The goddesses or the universe or whatever it was that decided what became of souls once they had passed in the mortal realm had condemned him to punishment.

_This_ was his punishment. The afterlife had stripped him of his powers to ensure he couldn't run away from it. All Shadow could do was face it. How he did so, however, was up to him.

Real or fake, Shadow refused to go down without a fight, even if that fight was silent. That was why he raised his head and glared back at the firelight forced into his face even though it made his eyes burn and wetness spring to the corners. Even though it terrified him and made the pounding inside him grow more frantic. Even though he felt like he was dying a second time.

One of his torturers was saying something, but Shadow couldn't hear it over all the throbbing. He simply pressed himself deeper into the corner and glared, baring his fangs to scare them off. Not that anything scared heroes, but it was worth a shot.

Every now and then a word would whisper over the banging. Matter. Storm. Window. Nothing. Little.

Shadow couldn't make heads or tails of any of it. He didn't really want to know how they planned to torture him. He would rather they got it over with. Then maybe he could return to the cave. His waiting room to be punished was much nicer than this torture place.

He had only seen this place briefly once before. Back then the sun had acted as a torture device. It had burned him, and he'd done his best not to scream because Lord Ganon had always punished him more when he screamed. He must have passed because the next thing he knew, he was in the cave with his dragon. He'd never had that before. But it had been nice. If he could pass this one too, maybe he would be rewarded. Maybe he would be allowed to return to his cave.

The issue was figuring out what he had to do to pass this ordeal. Hissing and glaring back at the lights didn't seem to be working so he must be supposed to do something else.

Wrenching his gaze away from the light and blinking away spots of vivid color, Shadow did his best to assess. It was difficult to see much of anything but he _could _see. Better than before anyway. That was how he found the mirror.

Something was wrong with it, though. It didn't show his reflection. It showed Link's. Blond hair—longer than Shadow remembered it being—blue eyes, and pallid skin.

Shadow shifted slightly to get a better view, and the boy in the mirror shifted with him. Strange.

Or maybe that was the point. Was Link trapped in the mirror? Were these heroes torturing him, too? Condemned him to being nothing more than a reflection of the darkness he coveted? The more Shadow thought about it, the more it made sense. Vio had met up with him in the cave, and that was only possible if Vio was dead too. If Vio was dead, the other three had to be as well.

Besides that, heroes were beings of light. Of purity. Justice. They would never accept one of their own having affiliations with anything remotely dark. The fact that Vio had befriended him, however roundabout and manipulative it had been at first, must infuriate the heroes. Now Link as a whole was paying for it.

Shadow had to help him.

The mirror itself was plain. Rather small with a square, wooden frame. It was, in every way, unassuming. Nothing at all like a Dark Mirror. But maybe that was the point. Light Mirrors weren't supposed to look like Dark Mirrors, least of all Light Mirrors meant to torture.

Despite their differences, Shadow hoped Light Mirrors were just as easy to shatter as Dark Mirrors. Easier, actually, since he couldn't see anything to break it with. No chairs. No hammers. No swords. Just a mess of boxes and shelves set against the wall.

He jerked his attention back to the light-wielding heroes, the creature inside him thumping even louder as if it, too, was appalled that he'd turned away from them for so long. He was lucky they hadn't come closer. Oddly enough, they had set down their tamed fires and were sitting, watching him. Occasionally moving their lips to form words he couldn't hear over his heavy breathing and thudding chest.

That was alright. Their body language was enough to tell Shadow what they wanted. They were waiting. Waiting for him to make a move. To _do_ something. He couldn't disappoint. If he did…

Shadow steeled himself, slowly uncurling his stiff limbs and using the wall to help him stand. His eyes flicked to the mirror. Back to the heroes. The mirror. He locked gazes with the boy. He looked scared, which was uncharacteristic of Link, but Shadow supposed it was only natural. He'd been turned against by his own. Why wouldn't he be scared?

Or maybe he was scared for Shadow? Scared of what the heroes would do to him if he failed. He wouldn't fail. He couldn't.

One step, then two, then three and still hugging the wall, Shadow crept closer to the mirror. Closer to his friend. To save him. Again.

It was the right choice. He knew it was as he stared into Link's haunted eyes. Knew it as he curled his left hand into a fist, and Link mirrored him. Knew it as he reeled it back and threw everything he had into the punch. And as glass shattered and red bloomed and angry shouts erupted behind him, Shadow realized he didn't know anything. He grasped for a hand behind the empty frame, but nothing was there.

Instead, hands found his shoulders, his arm, his waist, dragging him back from all the broken things and into fire. He thrashed and kicked, but the hands only tightened their already too-tight grip. He didn't understand. How could breaking the mirror, freeing Link, not be right?

There must be something he was missing. Had to be because Link wasn't free. Link was nowhere in sight. The glimpses he got of his captors as he struggled was all wrong. Brown hair, pink hair, blue eyes, green eyes. Face markings. None of them familiar. None of them kind. None of them Link.

They screamed at him, pulled him this way and pushed him that way. Shadow remained uncooperative through it all, flinging himself in opposite directions and contorting his body into shapes that would force them to let go.

Unfortunately, he was grossly outnumbered, and just when he managed to escape the grasp of one, another took its place.

The creature inside screamed louder than the heroes, shaking his body so hard that he had to rely on his captors to remain upright. All air seemed to have left his body and refused to renter it, leaving him gasping like a fish out of water.

As if disgusted by this image, the men quickly dropped him, and Shadow found himself on the floor, recoiling from the nearest flickering light source.

_**THUMPTHUMPTHUMP! **_The creature inside him screeched.

_Air! _His lungs screamed.

And they received it, barely, but enough to fend off the ebony eating away at the edges of his vision. Enough for him to scramble back to his dark corner, far from the harsh reach of the light.

He ducked his head, trying to shield his face from the light as much as possible while still being able to keep an eye on his three torturers. A strand of blond hair fell into his vision.

A fourth—!?

Shadow whipped his head to the side, trying to catch a glimpse of the hero that had snuck up on him, but he was too slow. He lingered over Shadow's left shoulder now. Once more, Shadow turned to unmask the rogue hero and once again the hero switched sides.

Frantically, Shadow grabbed the streak of blonde and pulled—only to feel a receiving tug on his own head.

…What?

Confused, he tugged once more, gentler this time, and pressure on his scalp answered back. The hair was his. But that didn't make sense. His hair was deep purple, not blond. Not unless he was using a shade to mask his true appearance, but he didn't remember casting one. In fact, he couldn't have. He didn't have the magic to disguise himself.

Yet here he was, with blond hair and—taking a good look at his hand—pale skin instead of dark. Short, stubby nails replaced his normally wicked sharp claws. He couldn't see his eyes, but he'd bet anything they were bright blue, not red.

He looked like Link.

The revelation gave him pause. If he looked like Link then it was likely the other heroes thought he _was_ Link. Shadow stole a glance at the three men. None of them wielded weapons like he expected. And now that he took the time to look—to really _look_—he could see that their expressions weren't angry. They were…uncertain? Well, mostly. One of them looked mad, but the anger wasn't directed at him. It was directed at one of the other heroes as they conversed in harsh whispers Shadow had no hope of hearing over the ever-present thumping.

A sharp, stinging pain erupted in his left arm and, deeming it safe enough to take his eyes off the heroes, Shadow redirected his attention to the appendage. It wasn't the pain or even the shards of twinkling glass embedded in his skin that startled him. It was the red blooming around the glass in his sleeve and dripping down his fingers with unexpected warmth.

Blood.

Only it couldn't be because shadow beings didn't bleed. They had no blood _to _bleed. Could he create the illusion of blood? Perhaps, but he'd never tried it, and it seemed unlikely he could create the illusion now with no magic to speak of in his body. So then…what…was…?

Tentatively, Shadow released his hold on his? hair and reached for one of the larger shards of glass. Just as he pinched it between his too-pale thumb and forefinger and prepared to pull, a shout and a firm grip on his wrist froze him in place. Startled, Shadow looked up. He met the piercing blue eyes of one of the heroes. The one with the face markings.

It took some concentration but eventually Shadow made out what he was saying, "…'t don't don't don't. Let go. Leave it. Please, leave it. It's okay, just leave it alone. We'll take care of it. Just don't touch it for now. Okay? Do you understand?"

Blue eyes bored into his, soft but insistent, and Shadow felt himself nodding, though he didn't actually understand. Why did this hero not want him to pull the glass out? It hurt, and it was stopping the blood from flowing which was what blood was supposed to do. Wasn't it?

Maybe not because the marked hero released a relieved breath at his answer. "Can you let go of it for me?"

Reluctantly, Shadow did as he was told.

"That's it," the man encouraged him, his voice unbelievably soft. Strangely like Vio's had been when he had found him in the cave. The hero gently guided his hand away from the shard of glass when Shadow hesitated to do so himself. "We're going to leave it alone for now."

Shadow frowned down at his arm. It pulsed in time with the frantic thumping inside.

Pressure on his shoulder sent him skittering back, pressing deeper into the wall. Hard bumps and sharp edges dug into his back, but he didn't care. Eyes up, on the threat. No longer anything on his shoulder, but it ached with the reminder. The hero with facial markings had his hands raised where Shadow could see them clearly.

"Blue? Green?" Why was he naming colors?

"Red?" No. Not colors, Shadow realized. Names.

"Vio?" He couldn't contain a gasp at that one. Did this hero know where Vio was? He wanted Vio. Vio could explain what was happening. He could find him a way out of this situation because Demise knew Shadow could not.

"…Where?" he croaked out in a voice so soft he could barely hear it.

But the hero heard it. "We're in my house. In my basement."

That wasn't what Shadow meant, but the man didn't seem to notice. He plowed on. "It's okay. You're safe. I promise."

Safe. What a joke. Safe was not some hero's basement. Safe was a cave that blocked out all light. Safe was his dragon that scared heroes away. Safe was Vio. Safe was not here. Never here.

Yet the hero in front of him was determined to convince him of the lie because he kept repeating it. You're safe. You're safe. You're safe. But he wasn't. He wasn't because he was a shadow being surrounded by beings of light in a world that definitely was made of light despite his dark corner. There were so little dark corners…

But as he stared at his lap, at the two trembling white hands that lay there, he remembered that to the hero before him and the heroes beyond, he did not look like a being of darkness. He looked like a hero.

And heroes _were_ safe in other heroes' homes. That's why the big hero with black painting his forehead and cheekbones kept telling him he was safe. Because he was. As long as he pretended, anyway.

He could do that. He had pretended to be Vio before. He could do it again. Except this time he had to be Link.

Sucking in a breath to prepare himself, Shadow peeked up at the hero before him—only to find his vision wouldn't focus. The world had become a blur. He attempted to correct it by blinking and rubbing at his eyes with his right hand—he tried to use his left, only to find he couldn't. It was probably for the best, since his efforts to clear his vision made it worse. With each blink the world pulled farther and farther away from him. Pressure cupped his ears, blocking out all sound aside for the ka-thumping creature inside him.

Shadow tried to silence it by covering his ears, only to realize he didn't know where his ears were or even his hands. Did he have hands? Ears? A body? He couldn't. He was dead—a ghost. Nothing more than a specter, a spectator, watching from above and below and behind all at once.

A man crouched in front of a scared-looking boy scrunched into a corner. The boy was eerily still, and if Shadow didn't know any better he would say the boy was dead too. Though, that seemed unlikely considering how calmly the man sat there, moving his mouth without a sound.

He reached out a hand. The boy did not react. He clasped the boy's hand in his own, squeezed it. There was no answering squeeze. The man cast a desperate glance behind him at his companions. Both shook their heads and spoke soundless words. One pointed up. Another swiped his hand through his hair.

The hazy world shifted and in its place was an image, overlaid, overlapped, and just as foggy and futile to decipher. He couldn't tell what it was beyond a blur of sun-dappled green and chaotic calm. The image was forgotten in the same instant it winked away.

The boy had been coaxed to standing and the ka-thumping creature ka-thumped even louder. The corner was safe. The boy couldn't leave the corner. And yet, the man was making him. Leading him away from the wall and closer to the pits of light blazing on the floor. He was going to push him in! He was going to hurt the boy, and though he didn't know his connection to him, he knew he could not let the boy burn.

_Step back!_ He willed, and to his astonishment, the boy did so, mechanically and without feeling, banging his back into the wall. The man moved with him, still attached to his hand.

A few words floated in the air around him. _Right. To. Take. Okay. Up._

They made as much sense as everything else, which is to say, no sense at all. He strained to listen, to comprehend the words coming from miles away, but each time they slipped past him like a breeze. Intangible and impossible to hold.

Something else was sliding forward, past his consciousness, caressing it like a cat, but cats didn't like to be petted by unfamiliar hands. Shadow conveyed this by wrenching himself in the opposite direction of the other presence.

The new ghost was persistent, however. They wrapped a rope taut around his brain, or rather where his brain would be if he had one, and pulled. The world blinked to black for a second—a millennia—before he managed to reverse the rope, throwing it back at its owner. Now he was the one doing the pulling. Pulling free, that is. Oh, and pushing too. Pushing the other presence down to the nowhere they came from.

No sooner did he accomplish this was he slammed backwards. A violent and stormy ocean of blazing blue hurled waves of scathing hatred at him, and he threw it right back without a second thought. Physical efforts were difficult but detestation was easy. Loathing, scorn, anger, and fury too. It wasn't long until they were a jumbled mass of black and blue negativity. Purple elbowed its way in to split them up but melted into them instead. Then came red. Green next. A perfect bruise.

It was impossible to tell where one of them ended and another began. Who was he? Who were they? They didn't know.

They were a die. No sooner had they settled to display a number, were they taken in a giant's fist, shaken, and rolled again. Each time they landed, they caught a brief glimpse of the world outside.

Pain.

Rolling.

A hand in theirs.

Rolling.

"It's okay."

Rolling.

Standing, legs like Chu Chu jelly.

Rolling.

Fur soft on their cheek.

Rolling.

Bouncing.

Rolling.

"Hold on."

Rolling.

Their arm hurt.

Rolling.

A hand on their back. Steady.

Rolling.

Shouting.

Rolling.

Firelight. Too bright!

Rolling.

Danger!

Rolling.

Sitting.

Rolling.

"You're alright." A lie.

Rolling.

"What's—?"

Rolling.

The sharp tang of iron, sickly sweet.

Rolling

Hands weaving through hair.

Rolling.

Hands cupping their face.

Rolling.

"Look at me."

Rolling.

Wetness tickling a trail down their cheek.

Rolling.

"Four?"

Rolling. And rolling and rolling until—

The die settled, balancing precariously on a corner.

Blue felt like hurling while Vio wished whoever had taken a cleaver to his head would kindly remove it. Shadow simply wanted to curl up in the dark far away from everyone and everything.

None of their wishes were granted.

Instead, orange-white light surged hot in their wavy vision and a curse fell from their mouth courtesy of Blue as Shadow recoiled, scooting them into a corner that was in no way dark enough. He needed to go back to the basement. No, Vio corrected himself. No basement. He had to stay where he was so the other heroes could help.

But Shadow kept stabbing shards of ebony and pitch into his brain which made concentration difficult. Blue didn't seem to have any issue, firing back images of blood and glass and the stinging feeling in their arm that, now that Blue mentioned it, was excruciating.

That could be because they were leaning on it, Vio hazily reasoned, trying to reposition the body and failing. He could tell by the straining of their muscles that Blue was attempting the same with similar results.

There was only one way they could fix this. Calm Shadow down.

_How? He's insane! _

_Scared. Don't care shoulddon't_

No use in arguing with Blue over it. Every use. No use. Every—_STOP._

Breathe. Vio forced the body's lungs to fill with air, tamping down on the panic when they stuttered. Not fast enough. Shadow latched onto it and their breathing grew even more erratic. No.

_Calm down. It's okay. We're not in danger. _Vio thought. But his thoughts hit a wall and fell to pieces. Vio wasn't connected to Shadow the same way he was to Blue. He and Blue were a tangle of thoughts and feelings. Vio couldn't hide a thing from Blue if he tried right now and vice versa. But Shadow was different.

Shadow was a kite flying untethered. Blue and Vio had no way of reaching him. Not when they were kites themselves, strings tangled together in the grip of a child who didn't know how to fly them properly. They could barely get off the ground.

The best Vio could do was desperately shove pools of tranquility at Shadow, and even then, he couldn't be sure they were received. While he was typically levelheaded in any situation, being so blended into Blue was making it near impossible to remain calm himself.

Their arm was a bloody mess of screeching nerves, and it only got worse the more Shadow's skittishness drilled them into the corner. Blue didn't understand why he was there in the first place or even how, but one thing was for certain. He wanted Shadow_ out_. Out of their body. Out of the front. Because Shadow being there at all was wrong wrong wrong _wrong_!

Impossible and wrong and dangerous. The glass embedded in their arm served as proof enough of that.

_Not helping he's not helping!_

Their vision was spotty and swirling at the same time. The voices that met their ears sounded far off, as if they came from the end of a long tunnel. Each touch felt like soft, downy feathers one second and like cruel punishing stones the next.

And it was all that blasted shadow's fault.

No, Vio rejected the thought for Blue. Not Shadow's fault.

But Blue insisted and insisted and through that insistence and hurling all the feelings of wrongness he could at the intruder, Blue wrestled some control. Enough control to tug his hood up and bury his face in his knees.

Some of the fear constricting his chest abated, then, leaving Blue to wonder if the action had really been his doing or Vio's. Perhaps it had been Vio's idea? In any case, the improvised darkness seemed to help. One less sense exploding in their face, the better.

Never mind the person who had put an arm around them and pulled them into an awkward embrace. Never mind the way their left arm was stretched out instead of smushed into their side. Never mind the stabs of pain pain pain or the warm, sticky wetness that followed. Never mind the rumbling shh shh shh and tuneless hums of a body pressed close to theirs.

It was dark so they were safe. _He_ was safe. And with that realization came a tug and a pop and a flood of sound.

For a second, Vio could hear everything. The erratic beating of his heart and harsh breaths, the slightly elevated breathing of his companions and their pounding hearts, the rain pummeling the roof, Sky murmuring "It's okay. You're okay. Everything's alright." Even the most miniscule of sounds met his ears, chirping crickets and crackles from the fireplace.

Then came the snap, and Vio was flung backwards. His right elbow struck the ground first, and he instinctively curled around it with a hiss before realizing that, aside from a vague tingling sensation, it didn't hurt at all.

Cracking open eyes he didn't recall ever closing, Vio was greeted by the lush greenery of the Four Sword Sanctuary. Inside, then.

A string of expletives from Blue turned Vio's head just in time to catch the tail end of a shadowy wisp shooting out of the clearing.

Shadow!

Vio barely managed to stand before he was knocked over again.

"Viooooo!" Red wailed, clinging to him tightly. "We missed you!"

He smiled wanly, setting a hand atop Red's head. "I wasn't gone that long."

"You were!"

Vio chuckled. Red had a way of exaggerating. "Don't cry. I'm back now."

"Forget that!" Blue exclaimed, scrambling to his feet and stomping over to the pair.

"Nice to see you too, Blue," Vio greeted him with a smirk.

Blue grasped him by his collar and wrenched Vio to his feet. "What the heck was that just now?!"

"Let's see…I believe it was a rapid switch followed by—"

"Not that!" Blue shouted. "How is Shadow here?"

"I don't know."

Blue shook him. "Don't play with me! You know everything!"

"I do _not_." Vio stressed, trying to pry Blue's fingers off of his tunic with little success. "And even if I did, I wouldn't give you answers when you're manhandling me."

With a growl, Blue released him. "Answers. Now."

Vio took his time straightening and brushing off his tunic. "I already told you, I don't have any." Between finding Shadow in the cave and talking with him, then having Shadow front and struggling to pull him back inside, Vio had had no time to puzzle out how Shadow had materialized in their head in the first place.

"Fine."

Vio paused. He quirked an eyebrow. "Fine?" Giving up so easily was unlike Blue.

"Fine," Blue repeated, heading for the sanctuary's entrance with purposeful strides. "If you don't have answers, I'm going to get them straight from the source."

Quick as a flash of lightening, Vio snagged Blue's wrist and pulled him back. "No! Leave him be."

"Why should I?" Blue demanded, twisting out of Vio's grip and making to continue forward. Vio hurried to block his path. "He's dangerous! He hurt us! Did you see all that glass in our arm? If he's allowed to reign free, he's going to kill us!"

"He won't do anything of the sort. He's just confused."

"Then I'm going to go knock some sense into him," Blue returned as if it was the simplest solution in the world.

"You will do no such thing!"

"Watch me." Blue checked his shoulder on the way past.

Vio wasn't going to let him go so easily. He couldn't. He captured Blue's wrist again, this time making sure his grip was firm. Punishing. "Blue, listen to me. Shadow doesn't know he's sharing a headspace or a body with us. He thinks he's dead."

"Why would he think that?" Red peeped forlornly when Blue didn't respond.

He spared a glance at Red's teary face. "Because the last thing he remembers is dying."

"That's awful!" Red gasped, sympathy refilling his eyes with water.

"He should have stayed dead," Blue grumbled.

Vio felt like he'd been slapped. Heat rushed to his face. "Never._ Never_ say that about anyone."

"Why not? You did! You said as much about me before!"

He grit his teeth. That was true but… "You said things that were uncalled for too! And besides, I apologized already. I didn't mean it. You know I didn't."

"Oh, so you can say it and apologize and get away with it, but when I say it about your little boyfriend then it's suddenly unforgivable!"

"Don't put words in my mouth. That's not what I said."

"It is what you said!"

"I said have some respect!" Vio fired right back, raising his voice over Blue's. "Respect. Do you know what that word means?"

"Don't lecture me like I'm five!"

"Then stop acting like it!"

"Guy, guys, please stop fighting!" Red interjected, hands hovering in the air like he wanted to tear them apart but didn't quite know how.  
"Let's all take a deep breath and calm down."

"Stay out of this Red!" Blue barked.

"I won't!" Red refuted. "Fighting is the last thing we need right now. If Shadow's really confused like Vio says, we should concentrate on helping him."

"Don't you get that Shadow's the entire reason why everything's so messed up right now? He's the problem! If he'd just disappear then—"

"He's not disappearing, so stop saying things like that," Vio said, grateful for Red's involvement. He had granted Vio a brief reprieve to reign in his own temper. The vestiges of Blue's anger must have still been influencing him. "I understand why you're mad at him, but it was an accident."

"Oh? Just like trapping you in that cave was an accident?" Blue retorted.

"He didn't trap me. I stayed willingly."

"Well! It was nice of you to let us know!" Blue carped sarcastically.

Vio heaved a sigh. "I apologize for not informing you, but it was only twenty minutes or so. I didn't think that would be long enough to make anyone panic."

"Twenty-!" Blue gaped incredulously. "Try twenty-four _hours_, moron!"

"It wasn't that long," Vio said, doubt creeping in even as the words passed his lips.

"It was," Red said. "You were almost gone a full day."

It certainly hadn't felt that long, but then again, he supposed time could run differently in the headspace. Could there be a correlation between how fast time passes and how far back in the headspace one is? Vio resolved to experiment with it. In the future, of course. There was no time for experiments at the moment. Shadow had to be protected from Blue's wrath.

"Tell me it's not true." Green's voice startled them all. Not just because it wavered but also because Vio had thought Green was in control of the body. Yet there was the green-clad hero, huddled beside the wind-element pillar. His weary gaze bored intently into Vio. "Tell me Shadow isn't really here."

Vio released Blue and closed the distance between him and Green. Softening his expression, because he sensed Green needed it, he grasped his brother's shoulders, leaned forward, and pressed his forehead to Green's. "Shadow's not here," he whispered. It wasn't a lie. Shadow wasn't here. Not in the sanctuary anyway. If Vio had to guess, he was back in the cave, but Green didn't need to hear that right now. Clearly, Shadow's presence had shaken him just as it had Blue. Only, instead of being angry, Green was afraid.

He pulled back, squeezing Green's shoulders. "Everything will be fine. I'll deal with it, okay?"

A war waged behind Green's eyes, fighting to believe him.

"Yeah! Everything's okay, Green. Vio's back safe and sound, see?" Red chirped, drawing up beside Vio and putting a hand on his shoulder.

Green blinked at him a moment before starting out of Vio's hold. "Wait! Who's in control right now?"

Oh.

Vio glanced around the sanctuary. Green. Red. Blue. None of them were holding the sword. His eyes flicked to the waterfall. The picture was dark and fuzzier than usual. Did the body black out?

Green must have had the same thought because he raced for the sword, only to have his hand bounce away when he tried to touch it.

"Huh?" He reached for the sword once more. Same result.

"W-why can't I-?!" Green flexed his shaking hands and tried to wrap them around the hilt. An invisible barrier stopped him and still he struggled, straining to get even a millimeter closer.

Sensing a full-blown panic attack, Vio stepped forward and pulled Green away from the sword, capturing his brother's hands in his. "Green."

"Vio! Why isn't—I-I why can't I not…?"

"Green, look at me." He waited for Green do so before continuing. "Relax. You're stressed. The body doesn't like when we're stressed, you know that. You remember."

"Y-yeah I know, but I should be able to—"

"_Also_," Vio said, squeezing Green's hands to get him to concentrate. "We just had a rapid switch, and then we were blended. The body's tired. Our brain's tired. That's likely why you can't be in control right now. Nothing's wrong with you. Nothing's wrong with us. Got it?"

Green's trembling had stopped. He nodded jerkily. "That makes sense," he mumbled. "I'm sorry for panicking."

"Don't worry about it," Vio said, knowing fully well Green would worry about it anyway. It was simply in his nature.

"Just…don't leave again." Green requested, meeting his eyes and struggling to make it sound like an order and not the plea it clearly was.

"I won't. Not without telling you first." Vio promised. "Someone does have to be in the body though…" Green was definitely out. Blue was too angry for his liking. However… "Red."

"Whaaa?! No! I don't wanna," Red cried. "Please don't make me, Vio. I still feel sick from all the switching."

"We all do," Green assured him. "Please, do it for me, Red? I can't."

"B-but it'll hurt," Red whimpered.

Green frowned, torn.

"Never mind, I'll do it," Vio said, releasing Green. Whoever took control of the body would probably end up stuck for a while. There was a chance that enough time had passed that their companions had taken care of their injury. However, it was also possible that it had only been seconds, and they were still in the midst of being treated. Vio had no way of knowing, and if it was the latter, he knew it was bound to be torture. Besides, regardless of the state of their arm, whoever fronted was going to be welcomed by a massive migraine. Vio could already feel the dull ache of it in his head and no doubt the others could too. "Green, stay close. Red, you too."

Red sniffed. "'Kay."

"Blue, I'll talk to him about it later, so please stay out of trouble."

"Don't tell me what to do," Blue huffed, stalking out of the sanctuary. Vio stepped away from the sword, intent on following, but Red stopped him.

"I don't think he can get into any trouble. We couldn't enter the cave no matter what we tried, and then it disappeared so…" Red splayed his hands to convey the rest of his point.

Relief washed the tension from Vio's shoulders. Good. Shadow had definitely reached his cave by now, and if Blue couldn't enter it then that meant Shadow was safe.

With a final nod of thanks at Red and an encouraging smile for Green, Vio faced the pedestal and grasped the Four Sword.

A bolt of excruciating pain stabbed into his head, followed by a thousand red hot knives. The groan that escaped his throat was not by choice.

"You back with us, pumpkin?" Sky's soft voice slapped itself over his ears, and Vio flinched, bringing a hand to his throbbing head. Even leaning against the Chosen Hero, Vio's head felt far too heavy for his shoulders. He wouldn't be surprised if it had turned into an anvil with how impossible it seemed to hold up at the moment.

Peeling apart his eyes was worse. Each eyelash was a deadweight, and he only managed to open them to slits before the scant amount of light in the area became too much.

He had miscalculated. The body wasn't just tired. It was exhausted. Suddenly, Vio was doubly grateful that he'd volunteered to front in Red's place. His most sensitive brother would not be able to handle the state their body was in at the moment.

"Four?"

"Mmm?" The strained hum took all his concentration to utter.

"Are you in any pain?" The question came from his left, and it took Vio a moment to place the voice to a name. Warrior.

Whether he was in pain or not was a joke in itself, and Vio wanted to laugh, but the blades in his skull twisted just then, forcing out a hiss.

That seemed to be enough of an answer, for the next thing Vio knew, the cool rim of a glass bottle met his lips.

"W-wait! Maybe I can heal him some more," Hyrule interjected.

"You've done enough," came Warrior's reply as the bottle was tilted slightly and the bitter, herbal taste of a red potion flooded Vio's mouth. It was unlikely to help, but he accepted it anyway. If it could dull the pain even a little, he would take it. Besides, he didn't have the strength to push it away.

The medicine dulled the already dull ache in his left arm but as the seconds ticked by it became clear he wouldn't be granted any relief from his migraine.

He let his eyes fall shut and curled farther into Sky's side, trembling from the effort not to cry out.

"Can you stand? We'll move closer to the fire," Sky suggested, misinterpreting his pained shaking for a chill.

"N-n-no," Vio gritted out through clenched teeth. "Light…hurts…"

"Light hurts?" Sky repeated, puzzled.

"M-my eyes," he clarified.

"Oh."

The faint red behind his closed eyelids snapped to full black as someone extinguished the lantern nearby. Sky re-adjusted whatever fabric was already draped around his shoulders to cover more of his body.

"Is that better?"

"A little." Vio didn't dare nod. As illogical as it sounded, he was sure that if he did move his head, it would fall off his shoulders and roll away. It was already balanced so precariously on his neck.

"Did the potion help?" Warrior asked.

"No."

"Here, I can—"

"Hyrule, no."

"It's fine. I took a potion."

"That's not going to stop you from passing out if you push yourself too hard, idiot!" Legend called from somewhere else in the house.

Hyrule gently took Vio's left arm in his hands in response.

"Wa-wait." If Hyrule insisted on using magic on him, then the least he could do was direct it at the source of his pain.

"It's okay. I—"

Vio cut him off. "My head."

"Your…head hurts? Not your arm?" Hyrule wondered.

At his sound of confirmation, the traveler hero's light touch left his arm and reappeared at his temples. Vio made certain to keep his eyes closed as Hyrule's golden magic flared. Cool warmth washed over his skull, but ultimately did nothing to alleviate the pressure threatening to burst his head open.

Even before Hyrule deactivated his magic and removed his hands, Vio knew the experiment had failed. Switch headaches could not be healed because, physically, there was nothing wrong. Their brain was simply trying to adjust to the messages of the person up front, and after being so mixed, it was having a tough time.

"How's…how's that?" Hyrule panted.

"Sit down before you fall," Warrior ordered.

Judging by the following thud, Hyrule had obeyed.

"'ts s-still hurts," Vio reported. His body felt like lead.

"I don't understand…" Hyrule lamented.

It was no fault of Hyrule's that his healing spell failed. They had yet to find something that would relieve headaches after switching. Vio longed to say as much, but words proved difficult to form when one was in excruciating pain.

Sky stroked his cheek, and though Vio appreciated the gesture, it didn't have any practical use. The cool, damp cloth someone set on his forehead was more useful, but even it served little purpose.

Vio floated in between sleeping and waking, then, sometimes drifting closer to one than the other but never fully embracing either.

At least, that's what it felt like, but he must have fallen asleep at some point because his eyes were fluttering open now, and they were nowhere near as heavy as before. His head still ached but it was much more manageable. Nothing close to the agonizing migraine it used to be.

His surroundings had changed as well. Instead of sitting crammed into Sky's side, he was laying down. Several sheets and blankets of varying thickness stretched out above him, a canopy of washed out colors. One side was supported by the wooden safety railing near the basement. The other was supported by multiple pillars of pillows. The construction was precarious but well contemplated. Each pillow was positioned with painstaking care. Even the sheets overhead were adjusted so that the thickest blocked out most of the light. Only a single strip of light filtered through a thin sheet at one end, allowing just enough illumination to see by. Whoever had set this up was experienced.

Light flooding in from behind drew Vio's attention. He twisted his head around to see Wind on his knees, swiftly but carefully closing the breach he'd made in the plush walls.

Upon turning and seeing Vio looking back at him, Wind started. The cloth clutched in his hands smacked the floorboards with a wet plop. "You're awake!"

Vio smiled wanly at the observation. "I am."

"Are you okay? How are you feeling? Who's out?" Wind asked, scrambling over to kneel beside him, rag all but forgotten.

After a brief struggle with Sky's arm—the man was practically hugging him to death—Vio sat up. "It's Vio, and I'm feeling much better. Thank you."

"Vio!" Wind exclaimed, surprise blowing his pupils to saucers. "I didn't think…well, the others were saying you were trapped somewhere last night."

"It was a misunderstanding," Vio flicked his hand, dismissing the topic. "If you don't mind, could you tell me what all this is?" He gestured to the fortress of blankets and pillows they currently inhabited.

Wind perked up, throwing out his arms to either side. "It's a pillow fort!"

He chuckled. "I can see that. I meant why."

"Oh." Wind settled back on his heels, still jovial but rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "The others said the light bothered you, but we needed the fire because it was cold so I came up with this. That way we could keep the fireplace going and not disturb you."

Vio gazed around the space with newfound appreciation. "Good idea. Did you make it by yourself?"

"Yup!" Wind confirmed with a proud tilt of his chin. "I used to make a bunch of pillow forts with my sister. This was nothing."

"_It's amazing!"_ Red squealed in awe. _"Can we make a bigger one later? Can we? Can we?_

"Red likes your pillow fort," Vio relayed.

"_I love it!"_

Wind beamed. "I'm glad."

"_It is neat,"_ Green agreed.

"_Who cares?" _Blue grouched. Vio was only moderately surprised at his most disagreeable brother's presence. His snappishness, however, was completely expected. He must have discovered the hard way that he could do nothing about Shadow. _"Ask him something useful."_

Vio did so, but not because Blue had requested it. "Say, Wind. Where is everyone else?"

"Hyrule and Sky are here with us. The others are in the village helping out. There was a huge thunderstorm last night. It was super strong. Knocked a branch right through the window upstairs!" Wind explained, waving his arms dramatically. The sailor continued his tale, talking about broken glass and how his sleep addled brain had been pretty certain a Moblin had breached the house, but Vio was only half listening. His brain was too busy taking this new information and slotting it into place. The puzzle pieces now formed a clear picture of what had transpired the previous night.

When the errant branch crashed through the window, the sound of breaking glass must have triggered Shadow into the body. Confused and afraid, Shadow had panicked, seeking out a dark place, which just so happened to be Twilight's basement. Then Vio had tried to pull him back into the headspace but Shadow had resisted, unaccustomed to the concept of switching. The rest was a haze of colors and pain until they settled. Or rather, until Vio settled.

"Everything's cleaned up now," Wind was saying when Vio tuned back in. "No more glass or leaves on the floor, but Twi is going to have to get that window replaced at some point."

"Is it boarded up at least?" Vio wondered.

"Yes."

"That's good." It was unlikely Twilight would be able to procure a new window before they left. If nothing was covering the window, his house would be left to the elements and the wildlife with no one to take care of it. Then again, it had appeared well-kept ever since they had entered, as if Twilight hadn't left it for an extended period of time, which he most certainly had. One, or several, of the villagers must be taking care of it. In that case, a busted window wasn't such a worry, but it would definitely make the house more difficult to keep clean if it remained open at all hours.

"Um…Vio?"

Vio straightened, suddenly worried he'd wandered too deeply into his own thoughts and zoned out. "Yes, Wind?"

"Can I ask…" Wind fidgeted. "What happened last night?"

Blue surged to the forefront. _"No. Nope. Not at all."_

"_Why not? I say it's okay!" _Red objected.

"_It is not."_

For the sake of not stirring the pot, Vio feigned ignorance. "You just explained it to me. There was a storm and—"

"No, I meant with you," Wind clarified, foiling Vio's plan of playing dumb. "Your arm was hurt and you weren't responding. Or well, maybe it wasn't you. I don't know. But whoever was out wasn't saying anything. They were…catatonic. At least, that's what Legend said. Him and Twi didn't let me get close, but it was still scary."

"_It was scary!" _Red agreed.

Vio felt his facial features soften. Whether that was because of Red's comment or Wind's, he couldn't be sure. "Sorry for scaring you. We're alright."

Wind's expression informed Vio that he hadn't been convincing enough.

"It's really nothing to worry about." Somewhere inside, Blue scoffed. Green's uncertainty churned Vio's stomach, but Red's tendency to cling to the positive and believe in the best in the worst of times calmed it somewhat. "Everyone is okay. I'll explain later—"

"_No, you won't!" _Blue objected loudly.

"—When the others are here."

"_We should talk about it first," _Green said, his voice not nearly as loud as Blue's. Not commanding either, Vio was sure to note. Something told him Green didn't want to discuss anything having to do with last night. Or Shadow, for that matter.

Fortunately for Green, the topic needn't be discussed. Vio had already made his decision. He would inform the other heroes of this new development. They needed to know in case Shadow fronted again. Though Vio intended to talk to Shadow about his behavior, he recognized that Shadow's beliefs were something Shadow himself had to change. Vio could keep telling him the truth until he grew hoarse, but Shadow had to realize it as the truth on his own. There was no telling how long that would take.

Therefore, telling their companions that there was another person that may front sometimes seemed only natural. If Green and Blue chose to despise him in the short term for taking initiative then so be it. They would thank him later.

Unlike some of his head mates, Wind seemed satisfied with Vio's answer.

"Oh!" Suddenly, the sailor leapt to his feet, the crown of his head disrupting the sheets strewn above. "I almost forgot. It's around noon and you haven't eaten a thing! Wait here. I'll get you something."

Wind left the makeshift fortress in a determined whirl leaving Vio to blink, stunned, in his wake.

"_Aww! Wind's so nice,"_ Red cooed.

Vio hummed quietly in agreement. However, he was not content to sit around when his limbs worked perfectly fine, so after locating his bag—someone had placed it snugly in one corner of the pillow fort—and exchanging the red headband currently on his head for the purple one, Vio followed.

The world outside the walls of cloth was bright, but not harsh. Not like it had been before. Even so, Vio found himself having to squint and blink several times to get his eyes to adjust.

It was a good thing he did, for if he'd taken a few more steps, he would have tripped over Hyrule. Skirting around the sleeping hero, Vio's gaze drifted to Wind. He was crouched at the cold fireplace, fumbling with the tinderbox.

"Do you need help?" Vio offered.

Wind glanced over his shoulder, pouting mildly at the fact that Vio hadn't stayed in the pillow fort like he'd asked. "No."

Honoring Wind's wishes, Vio slid into a seat at the table. "You don't have to trouble yourself with making something. I can just have fruit." Vio said casually, reaching over and plucking a crimson apple from the bowl on the table.

"Twi already made it," Wind returned in between the sharp clacking of steel striking flint. "Just…just need to heat it up. 'Sides, I'm hungry too."

Vio didn't say anything to that, content to munch on his apple and watch Wind finally strike a spark and fan the tiny flame into a roaring fire.

Once satisfied with the size of the flames, Wind bounded over to the table and plopped into the seat across from Vio.

"The others told me to let them know when you woke up so…" The sailor freed the dull blue stone from where it was tied to his belt and held it up with a flourish. "I'm going to call them."

Fascinated, Vio leaned closer, the apple in his hand momentarily forgotten.

With a twitch of the sailor's hands and a gentle breath that reminded Vio of nursing a flame to life, the stone blazed an electric blue and became weightless, hovering suspended above Wind's cupped palms. Magic, most certainly.

"Wild, Wild, Wild, Wild, Wild!" Wind called, bouncing slightly in his seat.

"Wind!" Wild's voice gasped through the stone. His voice sounded warped, but not horribly so. "Is something wrong? Did Four wake up?"

"Yup, he's awake," Wind reported with a bright grin.

Vio took that as his cue and made his way to Wind's side. He peered into the cerulean stone. A tiny, blurry image of Wild's scarred face greeted him. "Hello."

"Hey! How are you feeling…" Wild's head tilted to the right. "Blue?"

"Vio, and I'm right as rain."

"_Right as rain,"_ Blue scoffed. _"Who says that anymore?"_

"Ah! Sorry. It's hard to tell what color your headband is. Everything has a blue tint to it. But it's good to hear you're okay."

"How's the village?" Wind wondered.

"A mess. Lots of tree branches everywhere and damage to a couple windows and roofs, but no one was hurt. The barn at the ranch took a beating. Twi, War, and the old man are working on fixing it up now. The rest of us are helping out around the village.

"There's still a lot to do, though, so we probably won't be back for lunch. You—" Wild's head snapped to the side. Either the Sheikah Slate or Wind's stone must not have been strong enough to pick up noises from outside a certain radius, for they could only hear Wild's reply of, "I'm talking to Wind and Vio."

A few seconds later, Legend's face popped into view. "Vio, huh?"

"Hi, Legend."

"Hi, yourself. Weren't you supposed to be missing or something?"

"I'll explain later," he promised, expertly ignoring the resulting commotion from his headmates.

"I look forward to hearing it." Legend turned to Wild. "If they're fine, hang up and help me over here."

"In a minute. As I was saying, we won't be back for lunch, so if you're hungry, heat up—"

"Way ahead of you," Wind assured him.

"Alright. Good. Hold down the fort 'till we get back?" Wild requested.

Wind gave a sloppy salute. "Aye-aye!"

"Will do," Vio agreed.

"Don't burn the house down," Legend chimed in, his face re-appearing.

Wind stuck his tongue out in response, and Legend laughed.

Mission accomplished, Wind deactivated the stone, and it dropped lifelessly into his palm.

"Why do you suppose it works with Wild's slate?" Vio asked, intrigued by the blue stone, and its magical properties.

Wind shrugged. "Dunno. But it's handy."

"May I see it?"

The rock dropped into Vio's outstretched hand, and he immediately set to exploring its facets with his fingers and lifting it up to the light. It glimmered with a faint translucency.

"Where did you get this?"

"My pirate friends gave it to me. They call it a pirate's charm, but it's really a Gossip Stone."

Vio brought it to eye level. "How does it normally work?"

"The same way it just did with Wild's slate, except another Gossip Stone is usually on the receiving end."

"Curious…" Vio muttered to himself. The concept of Gossip Stones was new to him, but they were clearly tools for communication. Wild's Sheikah Slate seemed to be multipurpose, able to store items and capture real-to-life images. It was also able to act like a Gossip Stone, which led Vio to believe the Gossip Stones themselves were Sheikah in origin. How else would they be able to connect to Sheikah technology?

Were the Gossip Stones Sheikah-made, then? At first glance, he had opted to believe they were magical in nature, but now he wasn't so sure. Wild had called his slate science, not magic. But science didn't necessarily equal man-made. Science could be nature too, so what if Gossip Stones were natural stones in some way? When activated, they glowed much the same way as luminous stones from Wild's era, after all.

Could the Sheikah Slate be constructed of Gossip Stones? That would explain how Wind's Gossip Stone could communicate with Wild's slate. Yet, Vio had held the slate in his own two hands, and it had felt vastly different from the cold, smooth edges of the stone in his palm now. The Sheikah Slate was cold and smooth in a different way, but the screen _did_ glow with a faint blue light. Was the screen made of Gossip Stones? No, that didn't seem right either.

Perhaps the slate was simply fused with the special stones. How they were fused, Vio couldn't be sure. Were they melted down into a liquid and injected into the slate? That seemed wrong. It couldn't be a topical liquid because a liquid would rub right off, and then it would need replacing. A powder then? No, that posed the same problem. Unless it was inside the slate? Or perhaps the Gossip Stones had been melted down and hammered into place until smooth, not unlike the forging of a blade.

Vio could go on and on all day, but he would never achieve a definitive answer. He needed more information about the Sheikah Slate and Gossip Stones in general for that.

Sighing softly, he set the dull blue stone down on the table. Wind was no longer beside him, having grown bored with Vio's silent theorizing. When Vio located him, he found the sailor kneeling in front of Hyrule, shaking the boy awake. He seemed to be having trouble.

"If he's that tired, you should let him sleep," Vio advised.

"It's fine. He skipped breakfast like you did, and I promised Legend I'd get him to eat. Besides, if he's really that tired he can go back to sleep afterwards," Wind said without sparing him a glance. He shook the traveler hero's shoulder once more. "Come on, 'Rule! Food time."

Hyrule groaned, blinking blurrily up at Wind. "Hhhnnn…?"

"Wake up."

Hyrule yawned and levered himself into a half-sitting position with his elbows. "I'm up, I'm up."

"Good!" Wind said, getting to his feet and ignoring the way Hyrule's tone and listless expression made it clear he was anything but awake.

As Hyrule struggled to shake off the grip of sleep, Wind bounded over to the pot bubbling in the fireplace, giving it a cursory stir with a determined expression on his face.

"It's almost done," Wind reported as he strolled over to the table and reclaimed his Gossip Stone. "Did you figure this out yet?"

"Not yet," Vio admitted regretfully. But he wasn't giving up. Oh no. He'd gather more information later.

"V-Vio?!" Hyrule spluttered upon noticing his presence at the table.

Vio smiled. "Hello. Before you ask, I'm completely fine. Thanks for healing our arm last night."

"Oh, um, yeah…of course," Hyrule stammered, his sleepiness seeming to return with each word. He yawned, all but collapsing into one of the chairs. "No problem."

"Here." Wind shoved an apple into the tired healer's hand, likely hoping the sustenance would perk him up. Just how much magic did Hyrule use last night? How bad had their injury been? Vio hadn't checked, but he glanced down now, noting the way his left hand and forearm were wrapped tightly with clean white bandages. Unlike his sleeve which was still rather bloody and torn. That would be fun to wash and mend later.

His gaze darted back to Hyrule, who had just taken a tiny bite of the fruit in his hands. Eyes half-lidded, he looked more asleep than awake. A small, blissful smile stole over his face. "You're a good cook, Wind."

Wind, who had been in the process of ladling what looked like soup into a bowl, promptly dropped the ladle into the pot and doubled over laughing.

An amused smile stretched Vio's lips, and between Wind's chiming laughter outside and Red's endless giggling inside, Vio soon found himself laughing too.

Their raucous laughter snapped Hyrule to full consciousness, and without fully understanding what was funny, Hyrule joined them. Food forgotten, the three of them laughed and laughed and laughed until their sides hurt and they could barely breathe. Under any other circumstances, such pain and lack of air would have been alarming, but in this moment, Vio could only classify it as wonderful.


End file.
